


How to Save a Mockingbird

by Lady_Akuma_Wolf



Category: Lost Girl
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Protective!Bo, Protective!Dyson, Rape, Self-Harm, Slavery, Suicide Attempt, Thrall - Freeform, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 02:41:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4589985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Akuma_Wolf/pseuds/Lady_Akuma_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One night shortly after the showdown with the Garuda, Kenzi vanished without a trace. Nearly three years later she reappears, a shell of her former self and a slave collar around her neck, gifted to the Head of the Empress Guard. Her return sets in motion actions that will endanger them all. Friends will turn on friends and lines between enemies and allies will blur as plots and treachery are revealed, and ones who matter the most are in danger of being lost forever. TRIGGER WARNING: strong mentions of abuse, self-harm, and rape.<br/>Previously posted on FF.net by me. Being revamped and posted on here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Return

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning: brief mentions of scars from suicide attempt.

How To Save A Mockingbird

Chapter One

Footsteps echoing in the otherwise silent stone hallway, Dyson headed for the Throne Room, to which he had been summoned. His long black trench coat flowed out behind him. Noise echoed through a closed door that led to the ballroom as he passed, mostly likely the final preparations for the Masquerade being held that evening. He was not looking forward to it, but attendance was mandatory. If it wasn't for the fact that the celebration was for his friend Hale, he would've considered skipping out on the less than optional invite and deal with the consequences which would follow; Hale had practically begged him to be there as 'moral support', as he put it, having almost a strong dislike for parties as the shifter.

Dyson could smell the guards before he could see them. Rounding the last bend in the hallway, two huge, tanned, toned and bald humanoids dressed in tight black pants and little else, holding long, heavy pikes; they reeked of troll. The one on the left gave him a singular glance before they simultaneously opened the double doors to admit him to the chamber.

Inside, tall glass doors were open to admit the early spring breeze. Waves of bright, multi-colored sheer fabric swayed on their frames either sides of the openings as if dancing to unheard tunes. Piles of satin cushions were heaped in one corner near a door which led to an equally luxurious bedroom. In the center of the room a settee rested on a Persian rug and was also piled with pillows. A teak end table was piled with books, a lit cone of incense, a small bronze bell, and a chilled glass with something white and alcoholic.

A lean yet curvy, dark-skinned female Fae reclined against the pillows, a book open in her lap. Her black hair was done up in ringlets at the top of her head, with a couple teased down around her angular face. Black kohl lined her sharp, black eyes, which were focused on the old book cradled in her lap. She wore a sheer amber dress with a plunging neckline and a high leg slit, which gave Dyson a good view of her warm chocolate colored legs. Gold and silver bangles were looped around her ankles and wrists, jingling softly when she would turn a page. This was the current Ash: Mhaykii, a Jaguar Light Fae with all of her nine lives still her own. She was cold, calculating and brutal, but also fair, for the most part. But she could also be vindictive, and enjoyed playing games, no matter the body count. Despite having the title of Ash everyone, Light and Dark simply referred to as the Empress.

Dyson knelt some feet away, hands clasped in front of him, waiting for her to acknowledge him. It took a couple of minutes, but finally with a sigh she marked her place in the book and set it down. She raised a single eyebrow at him. "Dyson, my dearest wolf.” Her voice bore the faintest hints at an exotic accent. “I didn't think you were going to show. I was beginning to worry that you'd forgotten about my request for your presence."

Dyson stayed where he was. "No, my lady. I was organizing the guards for the celebration tonight. I don't want any interruptions from anyone whose presence wasn't requested, as per your orders."

Mhaykii sat up and clapped her hands, causing the bangles to jingle wildly. "Ah, yes. That is true." She beckoned him to rise and approach, handing him a blank, sealed envelope.

Dyson looked at in confusion. "May I ask what this is for, my lady?"

The Empress didn't answer him at first, instead ringing the small bell on the end table. Immediately a young girl appeared from a hallway opposite of the bedroom and knelt. "Yes, Empress?"

"A new drink, and make sure the glass is well chilled this time." Mhaykii ordered. The girl nodded, her eyes never leaving the floor and left as quickly as she had come. The Empress watched her leave before turning her dark eyes back to the wolf shifter. "You are to go to The Market, and deliver the envelope and the contents to The Johnson. It is the payment for the gift I am giving to Commander Hale tonight at the Masquerade. A birthday gift, you might say. Something to thank him for all his service to me."

Dyson frowned inwardly. The Market was neutral Fae ground, a place where they could sell anything from weapons to artifacts to powers to services. Some of the more wild rumors said there was even the sale of live humans. It wouldn’t surprise him. In the end, all he could do was bow and say, "Yes, my lady."

The Empress waved him off, saying only, "Make sure to be back in time for the celebration."

OoOoO

Pulling up to the huge warehouse parking lot, Dyson found a spot near one of the doors in the middle of the building, parking between a sleek black BMW and a twenty year old rusted out green Ford pickup. He sat in his car for a moment, trying to fathom what the Empress could possibly be getting for Hale from a place like this. For the most part he didn't question her motives, though she had odd ideas she had implemented, such as inserting Fae into both military and political power spots even more than before. And that was just some of the things he was privy to. Who knew what went on that he hadn't heard of, between her and the Council.

Thoughts like that led him down roads he didn’t want to travel; to orders he literally couldn’t disobey, a toy of the Empress’ called a Gag. No way around them, and painful to fight. But it insured she got what she wanted. Sometimes Dyson wondered if the Light Council was under one, too.

Cutting off the run of his thought, Dyson glanced at his watch. With a sigh he got out of his car, snagging the envelope off of the passenger seat. The afternoon wasn't getting any younger, and the sun was lowering towards the horizon at an alarming rate.

Inside the building his sensitive nose was accosted by a barrage of smells of Fae, humans, herbs, potions, ancient parchment and dust, and countless other things. Florescent lighting flicked overhead, in desperate need of cleaning and replacement in many spots. A guard tried to stop him once inside, grabbing his arm roughly. The wolf shifter's head whipped around, eyes dilating and shifting to yellow as his canine teeth elongated, a snarl ripping itself from his throat. Grabbing the guard he threw him into the wall, causing a minor tremor without having to think, his instincts reacting for him. The thrown guard got to his feet and lunged forward again, but another one stopped him, nodding to the Empress Guard insignia on his jacket's sleeve. They straightened at the same time and waved him though.

With one last growl at the pair of them, Dyson readjusting his jacket. Not wanting to have anything to do with the guards, but aware of the impending time limit, he approached the retreating guards as they headed back to their stations. "Where might I find The Johnson?" he demanded.

The guard who had stopped the other from attacking him again looked at him oddly for a moment, eyes drifting from his face, down to the insignia and back up. Finally he pointed towards the far corner of the building, where it was closed off. "Back there," he said, his voice heavily accented. "just tell them you wish to see The Johnson."

Not even bothering to say thank you, Dyson turned away and headed for the back corner. On the way, he saw countless black market and back room deals between the Light and Dark: Fae Prostitutes, assassins, potions being made to order, charms and spells of all kinds, and food booths that sometimes smelled like dead humans. After a female Gemini caught his eye and tried to drag him into a small tent, he kept his eyes straight forward.

The guard at the next door was a spitting image of the ones at the front. He nodded once when Dyson said who he was there to see. Dyson opened the door, entered, and the door swung shut behind him. What he saw halted him in his tracks.

All around the room, humans, mostly female, were lined up around the walls. All wore a silver collar half an inch thick, and two inch cuffs on their wrists and ankles. A fine chain of the same material attached ankle to ankle, wrist to wrist, wrists to neck, and neck to the wall. They were clean, for the most part, though many bore scars on their backs, arms, and hands.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome!" cried a short, fat man in a faded brown suit, bouncing on the balls of his feet in front of Dyson. "And what may I do for a member of the Empress Guard? A full human to hunt? A thrall to pleasure you, keep house for you? Name it, and The Johnson has it, or will find it for you!"

Dyson looked around him at the humans chained, most standing still, emotionless. Well, the Thrall part explained that much. Some, the ones The Johnson was referring to as full human, remained very much aware of their surroundings. Finally he asked, "Where do you get the humans from?"

The Johnson was only too happy to explain. "The Empress and the Morrigan both have their lovely fingers in several pies. We help out the human justice system with their criminals. Murders, rapists and the like go the Butcher-" he winked at Dyson "-others, like the thieves, extortionists, prostitutes, drug dealers and the like get sent to me for… re-education. Some take more training than others, but once they are trained, they come with a lifelong guarantee!" the Dark Fae looked so excited he was about to wet himself. "So, what are you looking for, good sir?"

Dyson swallowed a growl and handed the envelope to the Fae. "I'm her on behalf of the Empress herself, on a purchase she made."

The Johnson took in greedily. "Ahh, I love the smell of big bills, don't you?" He grinned at Dyson as he inhaled deeply. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the purchase."

Dyson followed the Fae, half believing and half hoping the this was all a joke, either at his expense or Hale's, something like a Fae exotic dancer. Something where the Empress could get a good laugh from her followers at his or their expense.

The short man stopped suddenly, causing Dyson to almost run into him. He motioned to the figure to their left. "Well, here it is! As you can see, two X brands on each hand for stealing, and for attacking a Fae. It was one of the ones that took longer than usual to break," he added, almost apologetically. "I tried to explain as much to the Empress, so it's not in such of fine condition as some of my others, but she insisted on this one. Please remind her of this, will you? I don't want to sell damaged goods to such a good client. She can exchange it up to sixty days, no charge at all! On the way out, I'll give you the controlling stone and key. This one still might cause trouble, though I'm sure you and the Empress know how to use such stones. Well, what do you think?" the Dark Fae motioned to the figure against the wall, all but jumping up and down.

Dyson looked over slowly at the human. It was a young woman wearing little more than a thigh length, thin strapped black satin dress. Her arms were scarred from what looked Dyson hated to think of as multiple beatings and at least one suicide attempt. Her back was most likely just as badly off. Her dark hair fell forward, masking her face. But he didn't need to see it. It had been two and a half, almost three years since he had seen her, and breathed her smell, but he still knew that scent.

"Oh, my God." The words left his mouth before he could swallow them.

Beside him, The Johnson laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

OoOoO

The Masquerade was in full swing as the moon started to rise. Nearly all of the rich, powerful, or noble Fae were present, revolving around the room. Laughter echoed, toasts were raised, and the occasional fight started to break out, only to be broken up by the posted guards. Hale, the center of attention, kept shaking his head and laughing, enjoying the party but not all the attention being paid to him. He stood near the center of the room, next to the seated Mhaykii, looking stunning in a rose pink gown. He was scanning the crowd again for Dyson when she turned to say something to him when the serving girl knelt next to her and whispered something in her ear.

"Good. Tell him to put it behind the purple banner by the far wall. Have the guard there lower it on my command."

The girl rose, bowed, and fled.

The Empress rose to her feet, and the room fell silent. She held out her hand to Hale. "It is time for the final gift to be given, from myself to the captain of my Empress Guard!"

Those present cheered, drowning out Hale's comment of, "you didn't need to go through the trouble, my lady!"

She led him over to where the purple banner of her House, a crouching Jaguar on a purple field, hung over one of the hidden doors. By the time they crossed the room the girl had returned, carefully holding a black pouch in her hands, which she presented to the Empress. Hale saw Dyson finally sneaking in, and gave him a quizzical look, but his shifter friend shook his head slightly, jaw tightly clenched and eyes snapping with barely retained fury. When the Empress started speaking again, Hale shifted his attention back to her.

"Here is my gift to Hale, may it bring him satisfaction for many years to come!" She handed it to Hale, who opened the pouch, and drew out an oval crystal made of a pale, cloudy blue stone. A fine silver chain a few inches long attached it to just as delicate silver skeleton key.

He looked at it in confusion, running his thumb over it. "My lady, what is-"

The Empress raised her champagne glass, and the curtain fell.

Hale turned, and stared. A pale, dark haired woman stood in a sleeveless, sheer black dress, a silver collar around her neck, fine chain of the same material attached to cuffs on her wrists and ankles, the end of the one from her collar in her hand. Pale eyes stared blankly ahead, void of any emotion. He looked from the female to the Empress in confusion, hands unconsciously clenched. "I don't understand."

The Empress just smiled as the young woman approached him, knelt and offered him the leash her collar was attached to. "My lord. I live to serve you and obey your every command."

Hale took it uncertainly. Up close, he could see her face plainly. He stepped back in shock, jerking the chain and knocking the woman off balance. She righted herself, eyes flitting momentarily to his face and then back to the floor.

Distantly, Hale could hear peals of laughter as the Empress laughed at his expression, and that of Dyson, across the room. Many of the present Fae joined the humor,  
understanding the joke as those close enough to see spread the word throughout the room. But that didn't matter. None of it.

Hale took a hesitant step forward, and knelt in front of the woman. Gingerly, he put a hand beneath her chin and raised it so she would meet his eyes. Dark, emotion-filled eyes met pale, empty ones. Carefully, as if he feared she would break or vanish, Hale touched her cheek.

"…Kenzi?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This combines Chapters 2 and 3 from FF.net.  
> BRIEF sexuality/nudity scenes

Hale glanced over to the passenger seat where Kenzi sat, staring blankly out the windshield. The streetlights ghosted over her pale skin, lighting up the scars on her arms. He could even see the remnants of the mark left from her encounter with the Norn, right before she vanished. Bo had been frantic, calling Dyson at work. Hale could still vividly remember the moment when Dyson's face went white as snow. The two of them had rushed over there to find Bo pacing a path into the kitchen floor, Lauren perched on the counter, watching her lover with worried eyes. Dyson had been able to find no scent other that Bo and Kenzi having visited the clubhouse recently. Upon searching Kenzi's room, they found some of her clothing missing.

Calls had been made, favors exchanged, and fruitless search after fruitless search had been conducted for almost a year. Nothing had been found. But they all knew Kenzi knew how to disappear, to blend in with her surroundings. Finally, coming up empty-handed yet again, and by the new Ash, the Empress, they had been forced to give up actively searching for her.

"She didn't leave a note, she hasn't called, or texted, she has to be somewhere! Kenz wouldn't just vanish on us!" Bo had snapped furiously at Dyson when he had relayed the news over a late-night drink. "Even if you won't keep searching, I will!" she stormed out of the Dahl, Lauren trailing behind her, glancing back at them with a sad, apologetic smile. And search she had, but had found nothing. Slowly, slowly, Bo started taking on cases again. She refused to talk to Dyson, and was coldly formal with Hale.

And then, almost two years after that, Kenzi turned up for sale at The Market, an empty shell of who she used to be. Somehow, the Empress had known she was there, and that she mattered to Dyson. And to him. So she had sent his partner to bring her to his birthday party and given her to him as a gift.

"It can keep house for you, listen to you, obey your every command," The Empress had given him a sly look. "pleasure you. Train it as you see fit. If it ever hesitates or attempts to disobey, just squeeze that stone. It's linked to the collar around its neck. The harder you squeeze the more it'll hurt." She laughed again, all of the Fae present following suit.

Hale wasn't sure exactly how they had left right after that, fury had been turning his vision bloodred, and his siren song wanted shriek around the room and bring those laughing at him, at what had been done to his lil momma, to their knees. But that would get him locked up and Kenzi killed, or worse. So he had taken the offered leash and left, opening the door for her and closing after she sat inside. He stopped at a red light. "We're almost to my place, Kenzi."

Kenzi didn’t even look at him. "Yes, my lord."

Hale ground his teeth at the term of address, but didn't pursue it for the time being. He parked his car and got out, walking around to open the door for Kenzi. She emerged and stood by the hood of the car, waiting to be told what to do. Sighing, Hale slipped his arm around hers and led her inside his house.

OoOoO

He sat Kenzi on the sofa while he got himself a drink of water. She had started to get up when she saw him enter the kitchen, but had sat back down when he told her to stay where she was. He grabbed two glasses and poured water from the bottle in the fridge. Still full of frustration, he slammed the fridge door harder than necessary, causing the whole thing, and a lot of what was in it to rattle precariously.

When he turned around, he found Kenzi kneeling on the floor in the dining room, hands clasped behind her back and eyes trained on the floor in front of her. Feeling his attention on her, she said softly, "I'm sorry for upsetting you, my lord. I accept punishment for my behavior."

Carefully, Hale set the glasses on an end table, and knelt in front of the human, noticing that she stiffened when he did so, but didn't move to get away from him, or even look up at him.

"What did they do to you, lil momma?" he whispered, forehead creased in concern and fury. Slowly he reached out, brushing a strand of black hair behind her ear, fingertips brushing her cheek. She was so cold. He dropped his hand, taking her hand instead. He wanted to ask her questions, to push for answers, to find out what had happened to her, but he was in no condition to question Kenzi until he knew more about what had happened, and what kind of state of mind she was in, if she had any at all. Given how she was acting, he wasn't too sure. He got to his feet, pulling her with him. "C'mon, Kenzi. It's late, for both of us."

She followed him obediently into his bedroom. Once she was seated on the bed, he dug through his closet, knowing he had a pair of black sweatpants and tank top he had gotten her as a birthday present before she disappeared. Finding the crumpled gift bag in the far reaches of his closet, he grabbed the garments out and turned around. He froze.

Kenzi was on her feet again, her bare back to him as she slipped the dress off and onto the floor. When she turned, he saw a mark on her right hip. It was of a healed branding scar of a snake eating itself. It was to show that whatever it was marked upon was either a human slave or thrall that had been sold by other humans to the Fae, be it because of a debt, for money or power, or because the human had committed crimes human or Fae, when was the case with Kenzi, he realized, seeing an X on the back of each hand between the thumb and pointer finger. He knew what the brand meant, but word had it that it was being used by a certain, select group of slavers who dealt with elite clientele, be it human, Dark Fae, Light Fae, anyone with enough money and power. If there was something you desired, they either had it, or they would get it for you, for a price.

"Where would you like me to be, my lord?" Kenzi asked, snapping Hale back to the present. "And what would you like me to do?" She sat on the bed, nude, with her legs slightly spread, leaning back on her elbows. Her pale eyes stared emptily up at him, waiting for orders. He had always found her attractive, even now with all the scars. Her beautiful curves, silky, dark hair –when she wasn't wearing one of her wigs – and her crystalline eyes, always filled with mischief. But they were empty now. This wasn't the Kenzi Hale had cared for, that he had wanted for his own.

He shook his head, eyes screwed shut and turned away from her. "No no no no. Nothing like that. Here," He tossed the clothes onto the bed next to her put those on while I go change." Without turning around he disappeared into the master bathroom where he had a clean pair of shorts and shut the door behind him. With something between himself and Kenzi, he could think, somewhat. He would keep her, and keep her safe, definitely. But other than that he was at a loss. He had tried to call Dyson on the drive back to his house, and it had gone straight to voicemail. He had left a scathing message and shoved the phone back into his suit pocket. He took it out and got the same result.

"Dyson, please call me! I don't know what happened, what's going on… what the hell happened to Kenzi? What do you know? Have you told Bo yet? Because if you don't I will!" he paused. "Call me, damn it!"

Hale snapped the phone shut, clenching it in his fist, unsure if to throw it into the opposite wall or break it with his hands. Finally he talked himself into doing nether, and set it down by the sink before stripping out of his dress suit and into his satin sleep boxers. He took his time with his nightly ritual, not wanting to face what waited without, in his room. But finally, he had lingered long enough. He left the suit where it was, slung over a chair in the corner of the master bath, on top of a lot more clothes. He would have to do laundry soon, and drop off the rest at the dry cleaners tomorrow, on his day off. He sighed, hand on the door handle. He would also need to get her some clothes. He _hated_ shopping.

OoOoO

When he emerged, he found Kenzi kneeling on the floor at the foot of the bed. This time she looked up at him. "What would you like me to do for you, my lord, since you do not want physical pleasure tonight?"

Hale pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nothing. I'm going to put you in the guest room for the night. I want you to stay there, unless you need to use the bathroom, which is across the hall, and I want you to sleep." He motioned for her to follow him, opening the door to the spare room. He had to toss a few old clothes off of the bed, but the sheets were clean. Kenzi stood silently by the door. He motioned her into the room and onto the bed. She sat down obediently. "Now, go to sleep." When she looked at him blankly, he added, hesitantly, "I need you well rested tomorrow. I will give you a list of things that need to be done around here then. But until then, I want you to rest."

Her eyes drifted down to the floor. "As my lord commands." She tucked her legs up beside her, hands in her lap.

Hale sighed again. He touched her hair, before letting his hand drop back to his side. "I'm not mad at you, Kenzi. Just get some rest for me, ok?"

"Yes, my lord."

Hale couldn't sleep after he had put Kenzi to bed. He tossed and turned for nearly two hours before he thrust back the covers in disgust. He got up and took a shower, cranking it to as cold as he could stand. Stepping under the stream of water, he tried hard to forget the evenings' events, letting the cold seep into his pores and bones. His body had gone numb by the time he stepped out. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he returned to his room to see his phone dancing across his bedside table. He dashed across the room and picked it up.

"Dyson! About fucking time! What the hell-"

"I don't know!" a guttural voice shouted across the line. Hale held the phone away from his ear as the shifter continued, "The Empress requested my presence this afternoon. She gave me an envelope and told me to present it to The Johnson at the Market. When I got there I was directed to a back room. There were about thirty humans, mostly women and about ten Fae in that room. All collared, all chained, and nearly all the humans had the same empty look to them." In the background, something glass shattered, and then another. "I don't know what happened to Kenzi!" Third shatter.

Hale hadn't even realized he had sat down on the edge of his bed. "Do we know anything?"

"Besides the fact that she's alive, acts like a thrall and was given specifically to you and fetched by me by the Empress? No, not a damn thing!" Dyson shouted. "Why don't you ask your precious Empress these questions?"

"Hey, hey, hey. She's not mine, any more than she's yours. We serve the leader of the Light. And face it, man, we both know she likes to play with her subjects; she's a cat. They play with their prey." He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I was just… shocked. Do you think Trick would know anything?"

Dyson thought about hanging up. His friend had jumped on him, and had been almost blaming him for something that was not his fault. But this was Kenzi. The feisty human who always stood by Bo… and by him. She had faced down the Norn to get his love back. She had face Berserkers with them. Just as she had with Hale and Trick, Kenzi had grown on him. And he had seen how much, before, Hale had cared for the human girl. And to see her like she was now, empty, scarred, smelling of blood, sex and defeat… He sighed. "It would be worth a try. I'll call him and tell him we'll be in at the Dahl in the morning, before patrons start arriving."  
Hale flopped back onto his bed. "Thank you, Dyson. I just had no idea which way to turn right now, other than to you, and Trick." He thought for a moment.

"What about Bo, and Lauren?"

The shifter growled softly. "You can deal with her. She's blocked my number, and whenever I try and call from a different number she hangs up. I've pretty much given up. She still…" he voice caught. "She still blames me for not defying the Empress to keep searching for Kenzi. I thought she had either run off… or was dead. So there was no point in searching for her. If she was alive, she would return, or at least contact Bo. If she was dead, then why ruin Bo's hope that she was still alive? Now I wish I had defied the Empress. Maybe I would have found something where Bo did not."

"I'll try and call her, see what'll happen." Hale said after a moment. "She might even want Kenzi to stay with her. But….gods. Dyson, she's been Marked." Dyson sat finally, staring at the paper-covered windows. "You'll need to impress on her that Kenzi is viewed as your property now. Have her ask Trick about the Mark, and how she will be hunted down like a runaway slave and treated as such. If you explain that to her, or Trick does, maybe she'll understand."

"Not likely," Hale muttered. But Dyson was right. That was exactly what would happen. "But worth a try." He paused. "Thank you for calling me back, Dyson. I mean it."

"Just take care of her." Dyson replied before ending the call.

After leaving the party at the Empress's, Dyson and vanished into the woods, his clothes left behind in shreds as he ran into the night, pelting down deer trails and tearing into the brush to make his own. Branches had snapped at his face, as if they were hands trying to grab him and pull him to the ground. But he ran on, trying to outrun what he had seen and smelled, outrun the knowledge of what had been done to the frail human girl he had come to care about and respect. She had risked so much for him, and he had repaid her by letting… that… happen to her.

The moon had set by the time he returned to his car. Changing back into his human form, he dug out the one of the spare sets of clothes he kept for times like these. Pulling a shirt on over his head, Dyson noticed his phone, which he had thankfully remembered to toss into the car before tearing off into the woods, was blinking. Growling, he grabbed it. Two missed calls and two voicemails, both from Hale from about two hours ago. Well he had waited this long, it would wait until he got back home.

The shifter sighed, eyeing the broken glass across the room. He'd have to clean it up later. He currently didn't have the will or energy to do so. Instead, he dialed another number. Right about now, Trick would have shooed the last customer out of his bar and be cleaning up. Hopefully he was still up.

"Hello?" He was in luck, apparently.

"Hey Trick, it's Dyson."

Trick could hear something was wrong, terribly wrong. "Dyson, what is it? Are you alright?"

"Well…" Dyson trailed off, not sure where to begin. "We…we found Kenzi."

In the background, Dyson heard glass shatter. "You-you found Kenzi?" Trick demanded, ignoring the broken glass of top shelf brandy now seeping into the floorboards. "Where, and when? Is she ok?"

Dyson replied, "I was sent to the Market by the Empress to retrieve a gift for Hale. That gift was Kenzi. She… isn't herself."

"What do you mean, she isn't herself?" asked Trick, confused. But he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew what the shifter was talking about. He just hoped he was wrong.

"Trick, she's been Marked," Dyson said after a moment, confirming Trick's fears. "And she's acting like a thrall. Obedient, empty, void of any personality. But she doesn't smell like a thrall. Thralls smell like blood that isn't theirs, they smell happy obeying their owners."

Trick left the bar and headed down to his living quarters, the broken brandy bottle quite forgotten. "What does Kenzi smell like?"

Dyson took a deep breath and let it out. He didn't own enough dishware to break any more, and couldn't afford a new phone. But the wolf inside of him was snarling for destruction again as he remembered walking into that back room at the Market, and even worse, traveling alone with Kenzi in his car, where the smell was everywhere. "She smells like pain, sex, blood and defeat, Trick. Her body is scarred. And so is she." He snarled something else, lashing out at the punching bag hanging in his apartment with loud roar, sending it spinning wildly.

"Dyson?" Trick spoke quietly, breaking through his haze of fury. "Dyson, are you alright?"

Dyson growled. Thanks to Trick he could somewhat think clearly, for now, but he was still more mad than he had been in a very long time. "No! No, I'm not. And I won't be until I have answers, and the blood of those who did this to Kenzi is feeding the earth and their screams have echoed through time!"

Trick, grabbing books off of the shelves to start referencing the Mark and non thralls, paused. "Dyson, calm down. You can't do anything right now that will positively help her. We can, in time, do something, but we need to stay calm, and work together. Reacting how you want to react right now will not only bring grief to you, but also to Kenzi, and I know you don't want that."

The wolf ran his fingers through his hair. "I know, I know. It's just… it's Kenzi. She's still alive. I gave up looking for her. All this time, she's been alive, been raped, tortured, beaten… I gave up on her, Trick! She never would've given up! But I had to be the good little wolf and tuck my tail between my legs when the Empress told me to!" Dyson was back up and pacing. "And then, two years later, She is the one who sends me to get Kenzi and then She gives her to Hale as a, as a gift?!”

"Dyson, Dyson, remember what I said? Calm down. We need to help Kenzi, now. Don't worry about the past right now, what you could or couldn't have done differently. The only thing that matters, right now about the past is finding out what happened to her, so we can help her. Do you understand me? Can you do that?"

In his minds' eye, Dyson could see flashes of the old Kenzi. The time she broke into the glass factory and saved Bo.

Kenzi running through the woods with him looking for Bo when she had been facing the Kappa, and afterwards, giggling, telling Bo what he was, and something about his 'junk'.

Kenzi with blood running down her face from her eyes, curled next to him on the bench in a graveyard, and then carrying her, curled up in his arms as he carried her to the Dal.

His fear when her and Bo were bitten by the Fae Spider, and were about to be killed.

The time he had been switched into Kenzi's body, and she had been in his. How frail he could feel she was, yet her spirit was stronger than most Fae. Not to mention what he had seen of her dark past. He never did get to address that with her.

Kenzi knocking on his door, a chainsaw in one hand and a small glass bottle in the other, saying she had visited the Norn and gotten his love back for him.  
Waking up on a cart, being pushed down an alley by Kenzi after he'd stayed to fight the Berserkers and let the others escape.

Seeing Kenzi, barely able to stand as the faced down the Garuda.

Afterwards, at the Dal. Kenzi's side was covered in blood, and Hale's shirt, also covered in blood. Her blood. He'd heard Kenzi tell Hale she was stepping out for some fresh air, and slipped quietly outside. That was the last he had seen her. She vanished a few weeks later.

And then… and then finding her a couple of years later, like, like that…

"I don't know, Trick. I honestly don't know. I will try my best, but if I find the ones who kidnapped, tortured, raped, and scarred Kenzi, there isn't a force anywhere on this earth that could keep me from tearing them apart."

Trick nodded. "I understand that, Dyson. And there will be a time and a place for that, but it isn't right now. If you want something positive in all of this, be glad that it was Hale she was given to, not someone else in front of you or him who would've harmed her even more that she already has been. Be grateful for that, Dyson."

"I am, Trick. I just wish there was more we could do."

Trick added another book to his pile. "We will, in time."

OoOoO

As the sun rose the next morning, Hale finally gave up trying to sleep and sat up. Sighing heavily, the Siren dragged his hands over his face. He didn't want to face the day. Didn't want to face what was hopefully resting in his guest room, and he certainly didn't want to face the phone call he had to make soon. As if it had heard his thoughts, his phone jittered across the stand next to his bed. Groaning Hale peeked through his fingers at it, wondering if Fate was going to have a sardonic sense of humor and have Bo call him about something. But luck was on his side – at least for the time being. The caller ID said 'Trick'. He snatched up and disconnected the charger cord.

"Hey Trick. I take it Dyson called you?"

The bartender sounded tired when he answered. "Yes, he did. I assumed you were resting by that time, so decided to do some research through the night, but haven't found anything useful other than information about the brand you described to Dyson." He paused. "Have you called Bo yet? She should be told. She still looks for Kenzi, you know. No matter how ludicrous or farfetched the tip might seem."

"No, I haven't yet." A door opened down the hall, interrupting what else he'd been about to say. "I think she's awake. I gotta go, Trick. When should we come to the Dal?"

"Come down here in an hour.”

Hale shut his phone with another sigh before getting to his feet. Kenzi was emerging from the bathroom when he opened his bedroom door. Her hair was tousled, and her tank top was askew on her shoulder. If it wasn't for the vacant expression on her face and the scars both visible and not, she would've never looked more beautiful to him. "Good morning, Kenzi."

The human glanced at him, then down at the floor, hands clasped meekly in front of her. "Good morning, my lord. How may I serve you?"  
Hale felt his heart pinch at her actions, but also knew that if he treated her the way he wanted to, the way he'd treat the old Kenzi, she would become confused, and anyone watching beyond the safety of this house could notice, and that would be a threat to her well-being. He didn't want to cause any her any more trouble until things had been sorted out. And he had a very tedious phone call to make, and he'd rather do that with her out of earshot. She would be confused enough as it was when they headed down to the Dal. "There are fresh towels hanging in that bathroom you were just in. My sister's shampoo and body scrub is in there as well. Take a shower, and get cleaned up. We have somewhere to go in an hour."

Kenzi nodded, eyes still trained on the floor. "Yes, my lord. What would you like me to wear?"

"I'll put the clothes in the room you slept in last night. Go on, get at it."

Kenzi bowed and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the door open as she stripped off her clothes. Hale turned hastily away. Returning to his room, Hale grabbed a pair of black jeans that were too small for him, and a button down shirt that he thought would fit Kenzi tucked away in the back of his closet. He frowned, trying to think if he had any underclothes or shoes that would fit her, but he didn't. The shower turned on and the curtain slid shut as Hale set his load onto the spare bed, which was made neater and more precise than it ever had been.

Shaking his head slightly, Hale returned to his room grabbed jeans, shoved his legs into them and yanking a shirt off of a hanger and tossing it onto the bed. His hat followed it. Then he glared at his phone, but he couldn't put it off for much longer. He dialed the familiar number.

"Hello? Hale? What's up?" It was Lauren, Bo's girlfriend, and bound servant to the Ash, to the Empress. For a moment Hale hesitated, wondering if she would've known about Kenzi, and what had happened to her, but he dispelled it, knowing how much she meant to Bo, he couldn't see the human doctor hurting Bo like that. He hoped.

"Is Bo there? I need to talk to her. It's important."

"Yeah, she's just getting out of the shower. Can I take a message and have her call you back or-"

Hale interrupted her. "I need to talk to her now, please. Both of you, actually." He heard Bo in the background. Once she heard who it was, she took the phone.

"What the hell do you want, Siren?"

"I need to tell you something. Tell both of you something, so you are aware of what's going on."

The noise changed, and he could hear both women as Bo switched the phone to speaker. "Hale, what is it?" Lauren asked. "You sound awful."

"Yeah, well I feel like it." Hale told her. "You both know there was a Masquerade last night at the Empress' compound, supposedly in honor of me?"

"What, Hale, call to brag about how wonderful the party was? What amazing gifts you got?" Bo snapped. "Say what you want and leave us alone."

Hale winced at the mention of gifts. There was no nice way to put what he had to say next. "You know how the Empress likes to play games with some of her subjects?"

Bo slammed a drawer as she dressed. "Yeah, I've heard about a couple. Why, did she decide to play with you? She should play with that wolf."

"Yes. Her gift to me was a human, branded and acting like a thrall." He swallowed, and hoped Lauren was still holding onto the phone, or the rest of this conversation wouldn't last long. "That human was… was Kenzi."

Bo shrieked. Hale hastily held the phone away from his ear. "Bo, Bo listen to me!"

"Hale, why aren't you excited? Kenzi is still alive! This is the best news I've ever heard!" Bo was bouncing all over her room, laughing.

"Kenzi… isn't Kenzi," Hale told the two women hesitantly.

Bo stopped laughing. "Wait, what? What do you mean, Kenzi isn't Kenzi? How can she not be Kenzi?"

Hale sighed as he sank to sit on the bed. "Like I said, she's acting like a thrall, but she isn't one. She… none of her personality is left. She has no emotions, just remnants of whatever they put her through to break her."

Bo sucked in her breath, and Lauren demanded, "what are you talking about? Please explain!"

Hale told them everything, starting with what Dyson had told him – ignoring Bo's growls at the mention of Dyson – up through sending Kenzi to shower. When he explained about the brand, the doctor exclaimed, "Wait, I've read about that. It's currently being used to brand humans and some Fae who have broken rules repeatedly. They're… re-educated, and sold to the highest bidder, human or Fae."

"Re-educated? I don't think I want to ask this, but how do they do that?" Bo asked.

Hale could hear Lauren sighed. "Physical, mental, psychological trauma and abuse. They will sometimes use a mind-reader to find… pressure points from a person's past to use against them, to break them. And, with Kenzi being a young female – you heard what Hale mentioned Dyson saying."

"Enough," Bo snapped. Then she sighed. "I'm sorry Lauren. I just… finally, Kenzi is found…" Her breath hitched. "I should've looked harder for her, I should've, I should've-"

"Bo, calm down! You're letting your power get away from you!" Lauren shouted, tossing the phone onto the bed. "Please, Bo!"

There were some more muttered comments, too soft for Hale to catch. Then stomping footsteps and a slammed door. Finally one of the women picked up the phone, and shut the speaker setting off. "When can we see her?" Lauren asked softly. "You have to understand their connection, and how much Kenzi means to Bo. And I'd like to see her, too."

"Yes, but you both – especially Bo – need to understand something as well. Kenzi doesn't recognize anyone. Not Dyson, not me, no one. She's… broken. She's walled herself off to the point she doesn't know anything other than obeying orders to avoid punishment. It will take a long time, if it happens at all, for them to come down. Pushing her is the last thing that needs to be done, and we both know Bo will react like that, at some point and time. She listens to you. Please, get her to understand that pushing Kenzi will harm her, not help her."

"I'll do what I can, Hale. But I can only do so much." The doctor said softly. "She loves Kenzi. You need to understand that."

Hale acknowledged that. "I know. Thank you, Lauren." He added, "I'm taking Kenzi to the Dal in an hour. You two can meet up with us there. Whether you want to tell Bo or not, Dyson will also be there."

Lauren nodded. "We'll be there."

"Wait, wait!" Hale before she could hang up. "Can you bring some of her old clothes, if you guys still have them? I have nothing besides the dress she was wearing when she was given to me, and the sweats I got for her birthday before she vanished."

"I'll do that, don't worry."

The line went dead.

Hale tossed the phone onto the bed and sighed; he'd been doing that a lot in the past twelve hours, he realized. And would undoubtedly be doing a lot more of it. He opened the door to find Kenzi standing there in the clothes he had laid out for her. They fit her poorly, the jeans hanging low on her hips, showing how thin she was. The shirt was unbottoned, and he could see the healed brand on her hip. Her other curves that he could see were sharper than what the used to be. He needed to feed her and put some weight back on her, not that she had ever weighed much before she vanished.

Kenzi broke him out of his thoughts. "Did you want to see more, my lord?" Her hand reached up to brush the shirt off of her shoulders.

Hale took two steps forward, covering her hand with one of his. "Don't, Kenzi." He used his other hand to raise her chin so she met his gaze. "I don't want that from you."

Kenzi's free hand reached up and traced the muscles of his chest, sending a shiver through him. Unbidden, he felt his body responding to her touch, despite his efforts to suppress them; he gasped as her fingers drifted slowly lower. She took a step forward, her body against his. She stood on tiptoe, her breath tickling his ear. "Are you sure, my lord? Your body says otherwise." Her one hand drifted lower, as the other one slid up his bare arm.

Hale's eyes snapped open and he took a step back, breaking the contact, heart pounding. Her pale eyes watched him, betraying nothing. The siren's mind spun, not sure why or how he had let that situation just play out. He stared at her for a moment before turning away. "Finish getting ready, and button up your shirt, Kenzi. We're leaving in a few minutes." He returned to his room and grabbed his shirt and hat, quickly donning them before shoving his phone into his pocket, not even bothering to see if she was obeying.

When he emerged from his room completely dressed, he found Kenzi to leave as well, her eyes once again trained on the floor, her body rigid. It took a moment to realize why. She was waiting for punishment for disobeying him. He touched her arm, startled to find that she was cold. "Kenzi, I'm not going to punish you for doing what you thought I wanted. Just please understand, I don't want that from you. Do you understand me?" When she nodded, he led her out of the house.

The trip to the Dal was a silent one. Hale barely noticed, lost in his own thoughts. So much so he almost rear-ended someone at a red light. Muttering curses, Hale drove the last three blocks to the Dal. He could see Dyson's car parked down the block, and Bo's old yellow rust bucket across the street. Hopefully they weren't at each other's throats.

He paused before getting out of the car. "Kenzi, we're going to meet some people who would like to meet you, but you are still mine. Do you understand that?" She met his gaze. "Yes, my lord. Your orders are all I follow unless you tell me otherwise."

Hale nodded and got out, going around the car to open the door for her. Locking it behind them, he led her into the Dal.


	3. The Gang's All Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: mentions of past self-harm, suicide, abuse and rape but nothing graphic.

"Bo, have a seat. You're going to wear my floor out." Trick said, watching his granddaughter pace back and forth in front of the bar. "Have a seat next to Lauren, and I'll get you both something to drink while we wait, it'll be on me this time." He offered her a smile, but his heart wasn't in it. He knew this was hard for Bo, finding out that her human was alive after almost three years after she'd vanished. Only to find out that she had been abused to the point she had become blank and emotionless. It was still unknown if the small human also had magic placed on her to act like this. Hopefully he, or he mentally added, the human doctor Lauren, would find more clues once Kenzi and Hale got there. 

Bo just glanced at the offered seat, eyes flicking first to Trick, and then to Lauren, who tried to give her a small smile, but didn't press that she should sit down. Neither of them knew, really knew, how hard, and how long, she had searched for Kenzi. Any whisper, any rumor, she chased down, no matter if it appeared to be fake, or a trap. She hunted them all down, hoping against hope that this time, this one time, would be different. But it never was. Days and weeks had turned into months of fruitless searching, frustrating her to no end. Lauren did her best to help, in her own way, listening for any whisper at the Ash's, well, the Empress's compound. Dyson and Hale were no help at all after the woman had gained position as the Ash. She hadn't forgiven them for it, oath or no to the leader of the Light. This was Kenzi! Of the two, Dyson's betrayal had cut far deeper, because he had always been someone she could count on, even when the rules forced him otherwise, he found a way around them. But not this time, not when it mattered the most to her.

Bo whirled around to face Trick. "Tell me again about the Mark."

Trick sighed, grabbing a book from the end of the counter. Flipping to one of the satin ribbon bookmarks, he opened it and slid it towards Bo. "It's called an Ouroboros. It symbolized a never-ending cycle, one that cannot be extinguished or escaped. Whether its life, karma, give and take," he paused. "or slavery. Fae slavers brand slaves and thralls with the Ouroboros as a constant reminder to them that it is hopeless to try and run away from their fate. It's also a very distinguishable mark, so runaways are easily found. Not that many ever make it off their master's property," Trick added. "The collars make that almost impossible."

"Can't the collar be removed?" Bo pressed. "Couldn't Hale remove Kenzi's collar?"

Trick opened his mouth to answer, but another voice broke in before he could answer. "He could, maybe. If he wanted her dead, or worse." Dyson stepped through the door and shut it behind him. "Fae, Light or Dark, are not very nice to runaway slaves and thralls. By now, the news will have spread from talkative guests from the Masquerade last night, and nearly every Fae from both sides will have heard about it by the time the week is out." The shifter stepped closer to Bo. "Think about it. The famous unaligned succubus loses her pet, and then a couple years later, the Empress finds her and gives her to another Fae, one of her own as a gift. Trust me, Hale is going Kenzi a favor by keeping the collar around her neck.”

Bo's eyes flashed electric blue. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Dyson crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm here because Trick asked me to be." His eyes softened ever so slightly. "And Kenzi was – is, important to me, too. I want to find the ones who did this to her as much as you do."

Bo scoffed. "If she ever meant half of what she means to me to you, then you would've helped me search for her, orders or no! You disobeyed orders from your precious Ash before to help me, even orders from Trick!" She glanced over at the barkeeper. "No offense Trick, but it's true."

Trick smiled. "None taken, Bo. But you have to understand, while precious Ashes have held sway over their subjects before by their power, none were as strong as the current one is. Most follow her blindly, because they worship her, for her power and her sensuality." He shrugged. "I can only interfere so much, Bo, in the politics of the Light. Hale, myself and even Dyson did what we could to listen for rumors, Fae and human. But we didn't hear a word, true or not. Apparently the Empress knew something, because she decided to make Dyson and Hale her newest game, by giving Kenzi to the siren. She's even playing with you, the unaligned, powerful Fae. Perhaps she thought she could lure you to her side by offering information or assistance in your search if you joined her."

Bo glanced down at the floor before plopping herself onto a seat next to Lauren. "Yeah well, she did try that."

Lauren's head snapped around. "You never told me about this," she said softly.

Trick set a cold drink in front of both of them before pouring one for Dyson. Bo just fidgeted with hers. "There was no reason to tell you, or anyone else!" Bo finally exclaimed. "I knew it was a bunch of lies she was spouting off, so I refused her. Maybe I would've fallen for it if one of the hints she offered I had already checked out a week ago and it had been a trap set by Dark Fae."

Dyson frowned, leaning around the doctor to look at Bo. "Dark Fae, are you sure?"

Bo rolled her eyes. "Yes I'm sure, Dyson. I don't think the Empress has very many redcaps trailing around after her, especially the ones that tried to kill Vex right before we fought the Garuda."

"How can that be?" Trick asked. "You're implying that the Empress is working with the Dark Fae, maybe even the Morrigan. These two women have always hated each other."

Bo slammed her drink onto the counter. "I don't know, all right? I don't know the why or the how or whatever. All I do know is that some of those redcaps I faced were the ones who were going after Vex. Maybe she just bribed them."

The other three in the room exchanged glanced. "Not likely, but not impossible either." Dyson said at last. "Redcaps will do anything for the right price, loyalties or not."

"Too bad certain other people don't have as much of a backbone as that," Bo muttered into her glass.

"Let's put a Gag on you, and see how you fare," Dyson growled. "I tried, alright? Multiple times! So did Hale. But her version of the Gag… you try and say something, you try and do something she doesn't allow… your body locks up and will not move until you give up trying to do that action." He got to his feet. "Both Hale and myself, even at work, we tried. One time Hale tried to do a missing person search on her. He couldn't move for nearly an hour! When he finally gave up fighting, he passed out!" A single tear rolled down his cheek. "I tried shifting to track her, once. I felt… I felt like my pelt was being ripped off of me by a thousand tweezers and my insides were being turned inside out. I was sick for a week afterwards. And that's not mentioning all the other times we tried!"

Bo opened her mouth to deny his words, but stopped. She could see the truth in his eyes, see the pain that he had gone through, trying to help her with her search. He and Hale and tried, and suffered for the same cause she had been fighting for. Finally she asked, "Why didn't you tell me the truth? Why didn't you tell me about this Gag?" she glanced at Trick before turning back to Dyson. "Or was that part of the Gag too?"

The shifter nodded. "It was part of it. All either of us was allowed to say was that we weren't allowed to help you anymore, for being unaligned, and because it was a human we searched for."

"He couldn't even tell me until about a month ago, when she removed the Silencing Gag," Trick told her. "I told him he should tell you, but he didn't want to upset you or put you in danger, especially when the Empress occasionally calls on you to solve a case for her. He knew she pays you well for your services."

Bo's chocolate eyes hardened. "Fat chance of that ever happening again," She snapped. "She can get off of her pretty little behind and go solve the cases herself!"

"Bo, Bo, think about what you're saying for a moment," Trick told her, leaning over the bar to grasp her arm. "If you do anything suspicious, or say anything that might clue her in on you knowing about the Gag, you'd not only be putting yourself, Dyson and Hale in danger, but you'd also put Kenzi in danger. And I know you don't want that."

"But Trick, I can't just sit here and ignore what I've found out! I can't stand the thought of working for some – some female that is somewhere at the heart of what happened to Kenzi!"

"I know you can't Bo, but remember what you said. And also consider that if you keep your silence about knowing all this, you have more freedom to try and find out the truth, and a way to bring the real Kenzi back." He finally released her arm, reaching up to cup her cheek in his calloused hand. "I love you, and I don't want to lose you. But I also know you want vengeance and answers. Just promise me you'll go about both carefully until the right moment."

Bo sighed. "I know you're right, Trick. It's just hard to…"

He removed his hand. "I know."

Outside a car engine roared and went silent.

Bo turned quickly back to Trick. "What do I do, Trick? And how do I act around Kenzi?"

Trick patted her arm. "Be polite, and gentle. Don't ask her questions, not yet." He looked at the other two. "That goes for you guys as well."

All three nodded hesitantly as the door opened.

OoOoO

Hale placed a hand on Kenzi's lower back as he opened the door, guiding her in before him before closing and locking the door behind him. He could see everyone waiting for them at the bar, sitting or standing nervously. He could see the muscles in Trick's jaw clench at the sight; Bo's eyes were damp, and Lauren's weren't much better.

"Kenzi, these are my friends I mentioned. Trick is the bald one behind the bar. The woman with dark hair is Bo, and the other woman is Lauren." He told her, pointing to each one in turn, ignoring the scoff Trick made when he mentioned his hairline. "And you've already Dyson."

Kenzi met all of their eyes briefly before gazing at the floor. "Hello," she said quietly.

Bo took a hesitant step forward, and held out her hand. "Hi, Kenzi, it's nice to meet you. I hope Hale is being nice to you."

Kenzi glanced at the offered hand, before placing one of hers against it. "It is nice to meet you as well, Miss Bo. And my lord is very kind."

Bo glanced sharply up at Hale, who shrugged. Bo let it go, for the moment. She motioned for Lauren to come forward. "This is Lauren, my girlfriend. She's also a doctor, and a very good one at that."

With some encouragement, Kenzi also shook Lauren's hand, but then she took a step back towards Hale, her eyes darting around the floor for a moment. When Hale placed an arm on her shoulder, she stilled. "You heard Bo say that Lauren is a doctor, right? I want her to take a look at you. She'll take you downstairs and give you a thorough examination, just to make sure you're healthy and all. Answer her questions as best you can, all right?"

Kenzi met his eyes. "Yes, my lord."

Lauren took the dark-haired human's elbow and led her downstairs to Trick's apartment, snagging her bag on the way by. Bo went to follow them, but stopped when Trick shook his head.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"I think Kenzi might be more forthcoming, as much as she can be right now, if there is only one person asking the questions." Hale told her. He held up a hand to stop Bo's protests. "I know you would do your best to just be the casual observer, but I know you, and I know how much she matters to you. You wouldn't be able to help yourself."

Bo contemplated following her girlfriend and Kenzi anyways, but she knew Hale was right. And she hated that.

OoOoO

Lauren had Kenzi remove her clothes so she could photograph the scars that decorated her body, paying special care to get all angles of the brand scar. She drew several vials of blood, in addition to performing exams on her ears, eyes, nose and mouth. As she continued with the rest of her exam, she asked, "How do you sleep at night, Kenzi?"

Kenzi's gaze started to waver from where it had been trained since they'd arrived downstairs and began flitting around the room. "Well, Miss Lauren."

"It's just Lauren, Kenzi. I'm not noble-born like Hale," Lauren said with a small smile. "But if it makes you feel better to call me that, then do so."

"I will call you what you like, M – Lauren."

Lauren bit back a sigh. "How has Hale been treating you? And please, be honest."

Kenzi paused for a moment in her search of the walls and floor for something to glance at the doctor. "Like I said upstairs, he has been kind. He has not yet requested me to work about his residence or pleasure him. He also has not punished me for my disobedience, even though I deserved it."

Lauren's doctor side told her to push for answers, but the human and maternal side told her to let it go, and to do what she could to protect her frail young woman in front of her. The maternal side won out. She would have to trust Hale not to break Kenzi further than she already was. She took one of Kenzi's arms and turned it palm up. Gently she traced a single, deep scar running from wrist almost to the elbow. She had an identical one on the other arm. "What are these from?"

"I don't remember." Kenzi replied, glancing up at Lauren. "Truly, I don't, Lauren. I'm sorry." She started rocking a little, eyes flitting once again about at the walls. Lauren gave her a reassuring smile. "It's all right if you don't know, ok?" She didn’t even bother asking about the others running cross-wise in a patchwork of white and pink lines from wrist to elbow, and a scattering of more up the rest of her arms and on top of her thighs. The whip and burn marks on her back were more easily answered.

Her exam finished, Lauren asked some more questions – how old was she, when was her last physical exam, previous sicknesses, other injuries and others – but the answers were about what she expected; Kenzi didn't remember anything, or was too frightened to tell. After she ran out of questions, she told Kenzi to dress, telling her to head upstairs once she was finished before climbing the stairs to let everyone know the basics of what she knew so far.

Bo was on her before she had both feet in the bar. "Well? Where is she? What did you find out?"

Lauren held out a hand palm up, to stem the flow of questions. "She's getting dressed, I told her to come up when she was finished. As for your other questions…" she sighed, sitting down at the bar and grabbing her drink from where she'd left it. After swallowing, she said, "She's covered in whip marks from both leather and steel tipped cat o’ nine tails, small burns... she's covered in them. The only place they left unmarked was her face. I took some blood to test for drugs, STDs and anything else that might come up. I didn't feel any scars or bumps on her skull, and her eyes are clear. I don't need to look to know that she was sexually and mentally tortured." She looked around at her friends. "Do any of you remember how Kenzi said, growing up, that her father would lock her up in a closet for hours on end?"

Only Bo nodded. "I remember," she whispered. "But how did they know…"

Lauren shrugged. "Probably a Pain-Eater, or a telepathic. But it most likely played a major part on how they… broke her. She started acting antsy downstairs, glancing about at the walls. What all they did to her, I can't even begin to guess at. But to get her back it will require her to remember, slowly, in pieces." She locked eyes with Hale, her voice going hard and cold. "Are you willing to help her, and deal with the fallout of her emotional rollercoaster she'll be on as she starts to remember? Are you willing to be gentle with her? Or did you plan on… using her as she was made to be?"

Hale blinked at the ferocity of the human doctor, but he understood where she was coming from. "Of course I am willing, Lauren. Perhaps not in the same way as you and Bo, Kenzi still matters to me, a lot. As for the using her part? I don't think she'll accept just sitting around all day. Perhaps doing small things, and starting conversations with her will help in some way. But not sexually. Alright, she's cute, in a human way-"

Behind the doctor, Dyson crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "I can smell otherwise, siren."

Hale flung his hands in the air, taking a couple of steps before turning back around to face his partner. "All right, all right. Kenzi's cute, sweet, sexy… but not like this. This isn't the Kenzi I… feel for. This-" He paused when Dyson straightened, arms coming uncrossed as his eyes flared gold. "Dyson what is it?"

"Blood. Kenzi's blood."


	4. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS! Self harm and panic attack in the beginning, and mildly detailed rape scene in the middle. Please do not read if this will be an issue for you.

Dyson led the charge down the stairs into Trick's living area, the scent of Kenzi’s blood getting stronger, though – so far – not at dangerous levels. They found her kneeling on the floor, madly gathering broken glass from the remains of a vase. Blood pooled on the hand cradling the pieces, dripping onto the floor as pinpricks on the opposite hand and fingers oozed the same crimson liquid; her breathing came in panicked rasping gasped. She whirled around at the sound of multiple footsteps. Her eyes flickered frantically from one face to another before focusing on Hale. "I'm sorry, my lord, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to break it, I didn't mean to break it, I swear! I was just turning to leave, and, and –" she began to hyperventilate. "I-I bumped the table it was on. I tried to catch it, I really did, I tried to catch it, but-" she scurried to the side, away from Hale when he tried to approach her, leaving bloody handprints on the floor.

"Kenzi, Kenzi it's all right." Hale knelt down on the floor, trying to avoid the small pieces of glass scattered. He glanced apologetically up at Trick. "Put the pieces down, Kenzi. Please. You're bleeding." He held out his hand to her. "Come here, Kenzi."

The young woman glanced down at her hands seeming to notice for the first time the blood on her hands, still seeping from the cuts. Violently, she shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no, no… not again, I won't go back again, I can't, I can't go back, I can't go back, I can't go back!" She moved further away from Hale, pushing herself against the wall. "Hurt me, punish me, rape me, do whatever you please to me! Just please, my lord, don't take me back, I can't go back there again! I can't go back…" Her breathing quickened further and her body started shaking as she panicked.

Bo started forward, only to be grabbed by Lauren. "Bo, don't," she warned. "I know you want to help but you'll just make things worse. Right now, that’s not Kenzi. The only one she'll listen to right now is Hale."

Bo glared at her girlfriend, eyes flashing electric blue for a moment before returning to their chocolate brown. Clenching her jaw and her fists, Bo stopped fighting Lauren's grip. On their other side, Dyson subtly edged around to the wall, wanting to be in the way in case Kenzi made a break for it, which was doubtful, but he didn't want to take a chance on that. She caught his movement out of the corner of her eyes and glanced once in his direction, flinching. He stopped edging towards her. He didn't want to startle her into harming herself, accidental or otherwise.

"Kenzi?" Trick moved to stand behind Hale. "Kenzi, that was an old vase, meaningless to me. I was going to toss it out soon anyway. You have nothing to apologize for." He smiled sadly. "But you are bleeding on my floor, so set the glass down and let Hale and the doctor take a look at your hands."

Kenzi's eyes shifted between Trick and Hale. Slowly, she shook her head. "Punish me, punish me, punish me… but I can't go back, don't make me go back. Break me kill me burn me lock me away…" She shuddered, eyes still looking in Hale's direction, but seeing things that were not present. Her voice dropped to a whisper as her body shook. "I can't go back. I can't be there, it's all dark, and cold, and it hurts, it hurts..." She lapsed into Russian, her voice and body still shaking.

Dyson glanced at Trick. "What's she saying?"

Trick shook his head. "My Russian is very rusty. Pretty much the same she has been saying, I think." He glanced behind him. "Got anything that'd calm her down, doc?"

"Already on it, Trick." Lauren was digging through her bag, yanking out a vial of clear liquid and a syringe. She ripped the sterile packaging off of the needle and thrust the end into the vial, pulling the plunger back to the correct milliliter.

Hale moved forward cautiously, trying to catch the human's gaze. "Lil momma? Kenzi? C'mere, and set the glass down. It's ok, I promise."

Kenzi's eyes flitted up to him, then to the glass in her hand, still muttering in Russian. Her eyes, normally pale, seemed to glow as the whites around her eyes become starkly visible. Her whole body was shaking.

"That's right, set it down Kenzi. Set it down on the floor. You're not in trouble, and I'm not going to take you back. I won't ever take you back to that place."

Slowly, piece by piece, Kenzi slowly set the glass on the floor beside her. The last one was almost completely stained red with her blood. She looked at it in her fingers, long and sharp. She shook her head, saying something in Russian.

Trick suddenly looked alarmed. "Stop her! Get that last piece away from her!"

Dyson lunged forwards as Lauren and Bo demanded to know what she said; Hale was rooted to the spot as Kenzi started slashing at her wrist with the glass shard. The shifter grabbed the wrist of the glass holding hand and the upper forearm of the opposite arm above the bleeding gashes, keeping them far enough apart so she couldn't hurt herself further. She fought him, crying out words of mixed Russian and English. Lauren appeared at his elbow. "Hold her as still as you can and be ready to catch her!" She jabbed a needle into Kenzi's arm, injecting the fluid before running back to her bag and digging out sterile pads and yanking them open, ready to stem the flow of Kenzi's blood.

Almost immediately Kenzi sagged, the bloody shard falling from her limp fingers, shattering on the floor in a spray of glass and blood. She looked up at the shifter as he caught her before she fell. "…Dyson?"

Dyson lifted her bridal style, cradling her against his chest as he moved her to the couch. Trick disappeared and reappeared with a stack of clean, white bar towels, setting them beside Lauren as she dug in her medical bag, pulling out pre-threaded crescent needle suture packs and Bo applied pressure to Kenzi's wrist and hand. Hale sat on the opposite side of them, gaze transfixed on the little human's face, forehead wrinkled in concern.

Trick, returning with a basin of hot water, caught Dyson's eye and motioned that he should follow him upstairs. Once in the bar, the Blood King turned and asked, "What did Kenzi say to you before she passed out?"

Dyson sighed, running his hands over his face, leaving a small smear of red on one cheek. "She said my name. Why?"

Trick blinked. "How did she word it? Did she say Mr. Dyson, Dyson sir, Master Dyson?"

Dyson slowly shook his head. "Just Dyson."

"With all of the – training – she underwent, it would've been ingrained in her to use formal addresses with everyone, no matter what, unless they, too, were slaves. And from her point of view, you are nowhere near a slave."

"So what does that mean?" Dyson asked.

Trick started pacing. "I'm not sure. The only thing that comes to mind is when she started panicking, the walls that were built to keep the real Kenzi locked away were down, even slightly. I doubt when she regains consciousness that they'll still be down, but it's a possibility."

"It's a step to getting her back, though, in any case, isn't it?" Bo asked, her eyes fixed on the still human face of her best friend.

Trick could hear the hope in her voice. "Perhaps. But only time will tell."

OoOoO

Hale didn't really notice how much time had passed after Kenzi had passed out. He felt like he had failed her, again. In the grand scheme of things, this was pretty minor compared to what she had been though in the past couple of years, but still. He was responsible for her welfare, and this has happened. He picked up her relatively uninjured hand and pressed it to his cheek. "Why, lil momma? Why?"

Lauren glanced up at him, her white gloved hands tinted red as she tied another knot in the cut on Kenzi's palm. The gash on her arm had already been stitched up and bandaged. The doctor opened her mouth to answer, but it was Bo who spoke first.

"Why? Why?! Do you really need to ask that, Hale? I searched and searched for her, and I couldn't find her for two years! You and Dyson give up helping me-"

"Hey! That was not our fault!" Hale interrupted. "We tried, ok? I tried and ended up severely sick for a week! Dyson tried to shift and track her, and he ended up sick and in severe pain for longer than that! And that's just two of the timed that we tried to defy the Gag the Empress placed on us!" Hale hadn't even realized that he'd gotten to his feet until he was walking around the sofa to stand in front of Bo. "We care about Kenzi, Bo! Not just you! How the hell can you not see that? Or are you just so self-absorbed that you can't see past your own ego and self-loathing?!"

Bo's eyes glowed blue. "How dare you?!" She snarled. "You should've tried harder! This is Kenzi! She was tortured, raped, and God knows what else in those years I couldn't find her!" She took a shaky breath. "I let her down, Hale. I – I feel horrible for that." Her eyes turned back to brown, glistening with unshed tears.

Hale stepped forward and embraced her. The succubus stiffened for a moment before relaxing. "We all let her down, Bo," he said softly. "But that's in the past, we can't change it. All we can do now is do our best to help her heal, and remember who she is. She's going to need all of us, and we're all going to have to be strong for her." He straightened and met her eyes, hands on her shoulders. "Can you do that, Bo? For her?"

Bo nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I can." She looked over at the two humans. "I just wish…"

"Yeah, me too."

OoOoO

Dyson found himself once again pacing his sparse living quarters. He'd tried – and failed – to drink away the memories of the past couple of days. He should have known, truly, that it wouldn't work. It never did, if he was honest with himself. Just blurred them enough for him to suppress them, sometimes. Pushed the pain from everything away enough that he could sleep dreamlessly. But nothing worked tonight. Running, drinking, tearing some luckless rabbits and grouse to pieces, nothing.

The shifter lashed out at the boxing bag, unleashing his pent-up fury on the poor bag, setting it to swing wildly with every swing. "Leave me alone!" he snarled at his memories.

He dashed forward, grabbing Kenzi's hands to stop her from further hurting herself, blood already covering his hands. He held her still easily as she struggled against his grasp, trying to slash her arm again, still crying out in Russian. Catching her as she fell after Lauren injected her with a sedative, he met her pale eyes with his own.

"Dyson?..." she whispered.

Dyson roared, not wanting the memory to continue. He fought it, shoving it away, not wanting to hear Kenzi's plea. But his mind refused to listen. Sand started to leak out of the bag with every hit, smashing the bag harder and harder.

"Dyson?..." Kenzi whispered, her eyes clearing even as she faded under the affects of the drugs. "Please..."

With a guttural snarl, Dyson slashed out at the bag, claws forming as he lost control of his power. Sand poured out of the bag, its cloth fabric rent almost completely in two. Panting, flecks of sand and dust sticking to his body, Dyson screamed, dropping to his knees, fingers knotted in his hair.

"Please…"

"Kenzi…" he whispered hoarsely. He let his hands slip from his hair to his lap. Part of him wasn't even sure why her words, her request, affected him so much. When he had first met her that day, years ago in the glass factory when she had charged in, calling out for Bo to wake up and fight. For a while after that, he'd just thought of her as Bo's annoying human pet and tagalong. Then, slowly, she started to grow on him. He wasn't really sure when. She always did her best, as much as her weak human self could, to help them, barring that time she drunkenly set Baba Yaga on him, but even then she tried fix what she'd created by offering herself up in his place.

And then… she'd gotten his love back for him. Gods only know what possessed her to do what she did, attacking the Norn and her tree with a chainsaw, of all things. But in hindsight, that was just so… Kenzi.

Soon after that, she vanished. He had always wondered if the Norn had anything to do with it, but the Gag the Empress placed on all of her subjects after her rise to power successfully prevented him from going to her and asking, or even telling Bo to check it out, if she hadn't already. She never mentioned it to him or Hale, if she had. Whether she had or not, it didn't change the fact that he felt… responsible, for the human, if responsible was even the correct word. He wasn't sure anymore. Perhaps her being a frail human even before everything that had happened to her after she'd vanished had awoken a protective streak, both within him and his wolf. Perhaps she was the little sister he'd never had. Perhaps he felt like he owed her for her actions involving the Norn, regardless that it was moot point since Bo refused to have anything to do with him after Kenzi went missing. Even now he doubted he could win her back from Lauren.

"Dyson…please…"

He growled again. He needed to see Kenzi. Maybe he could get her to remember something. She'd remembered him. That was a start. Maybe he could do more for her.

Dyson got to his feet and headed for the shower. The sand and dust was drying on his skin along with his sweat, creating an itchy layer over a lot of his exposed skin. As he stripped down and stepped under the hot water, he wondered, however much he thought he could help Kenzi start to remember, if he could fulfill her request of him.

OoOoO

Kenzi stirred next to him on the bed. Hale, relaxing in jeans, no shirt and no shoes, muted the TV show he'd been absently watching in case she woke up without him noticing and turned to look at her. She shifted, head trailing dark hair across the pillow. One hand clenched the blanket he'd draped over her, but otherwise she didn't move again. He sighed. He was starting to worry that the human doctor had dosed her too much, though not worried enough to call her and ask.

At least she was in her own clothes. While he had been settling her as comfortably as he could in the back of his car Bo had come over with a duffle bag stuffed with clean clothes, ranging from jeans and graphic tees to a few of Kenzi’s more… eccentric pieces, as well as her most comfy sleeping clothes.

The siren started to turn the sound back up when he thought he heard the chiming of the doorbell. With a sigh he got to his feet and peeked out of the bedroom window. The sight outside which greeted him wasn't what he was expecting. The sleek, black SUV with dark tinted windows was barely discernible parked in his darkened driveway. But the brightly dressed woman standing on his doorstep – though her black-clad bodyguards were nowhere to be seen – was all too recognizable. The bell chimed again as Hale hurried down to the hall and flung the front door open.

"Ah, Hale, so nice of you to finally come greet me," the Empress said, arching a single eyebrow. "enjoying time with your pet? Hope I didn't interrupt anything… too enjoyable. Its training was assured to me as quite extensive, especially in bed, as I am sure you can attest to by now. I was in the area and thought I’d stop by and give you your new insignia. My smith just finished it earlier today." She pulled a small box out of her daintily beaded purse and handed it to him.

Hale took it with a suppressed sigh, and bowed instead. He knew better than to open the box and look in front of her. "Thank you, my Empress. You truly didn’t need to go through such trouble, I could have come to you. And no, my lady. Tonight I was merely resting. Kenzi… Kenzi cut her hand earlier today, so I'm taking it easy on her for a day or two."

The Empress tsked at him and patted his chest. "Now, now Hale. Use it how and when you please. If it dies, you can always get another. There are so many of them, we're doing them a favor by killing some of them." She eyed him, and Hale had a feeling of his mind being touched. It vanished as soon as it started, almost as if he'd imagined it.

"You've yet to use it, have you?" she asked, astonished. "Why? I know you find it attractive. You did even before it vanished. Why not revel in those emotions? You're a man, and you're Fae," she reminded him, as if he'd forgotten. She took a step forward and touched his cheek. "Revel in your primal emotions, Hale. They're there to be enjoyed, as the humans are there to be used."

Before he could formulate a response, she turned in a whirl of color and perfume. A figure in black appeared next to the car, opening the door for the Empress to climb in, arranging her skirts before the door shut and the car started. Wheels spat up gravel as the Siren shut the door and locked it.

With a sigh, he leaned his forehead against the solid wood, wondering what the hell she was thinking, coming over to his place unannounced. Given it was the Empress. She didn't follow the rules of etiquette she expected them all to use. She was above it all. But, she was also usually right. Her words seemed within her persona, poking at him, insulting him, reminding him. She never even said why she was there, she just came, said her piece, if it could be called that, and left. That was unusual even for her. Perhaps she had just been in the area? He'd probably never know, and trying to figure the Empress out would just give him a headache.

Noise came from the hallway. Kenzi peered around the corner at him, tank top askew off one shoulder, her hair a mess of tangled strands over one shoulder, sweatpants hanging low on her hips. If the real Kenzi could see herself like this, she'd be horrified. Hale, however, found her beautiful.

"Kenzi? How are you feeling?"

Her pale eyes were still skittering around, but not as much as earlier that day. "Ha-How may I serve you, my lord?" she asked. "I am well enough to service you however you desire."

Hale took her bandaged hand in his own, inspecting it. The wound hadn't bled through yet, luckily. He didn't want to have to call Lauren for anything unless it was dire. She looked up at him. "My lord? You seem troubled by something."

Hale shook his head. The words on the tip of his tongue vanished. Icy fire leapt across his skin as Kenzi trailed her fingers up his chest, to his shoulder and to his neck. "Kenzi-" his words were broke off when Kenzi pressed her lips to his, the hand he held touching his chest, soft fingers and rough bandage setting further fire to his body, a fire which travelled up his chest and down his arms, and down to another, more sensitive, area of his body. Heat blossomed there as Kenzi pressed herself against him, his hand sliding up the front of her shirt, the other cupping her head as he deepened the kiss. Her mouth opened to his questing tongue, dancing against his as a hand drifted down to his wait, undoing the button and zipper of his jeans. The movement of cloth on his swollen member made Hale moan into her mouth. He grabbed her waist and twisted, pressing her into the wall, hands slipping further up her shirt.

Kenzi arched her back, thrusting her hips into his. Hale broke off their heated kiss, moaning loudly. There was too much cloth between them, to his way of thinking. Kenzi dragged her nails down his chest to his waist.

"Let me help you forget your troubles for awhile, my lord."

OoOoO

Dyson parked with the lights off half a block away from Hale's small house where he stayed when he wanted to be away from his family, which was a lot of the time. There was a strange car parked in the driveway, but the brightly-clad woman standing on the front porch impatiently pushing the doorbell. He watched as Hale finally opened the door. Their conversation barely lasted three minutes, and to Dyson's great unease, he couldn't see well enough to read their lips. He was good, but not that good.

When she touched his partner's cheek, he suppressed a growl. It helped – barely – that he didn't seem to like it anymore than Dyson liked to see it happening. After another moment or two, she returned to her black car and left. Dyson waited a few minutes to make sure the Empress, and her guards, had all left before he dared to leave his own car, snagging the keys from the ignition as he got out. Keeping an eye out for errant Fae – Light or Dark – Dyson crossed the street and stepped up to the door the Empress and recently vacated. The door was locked, and Hale didn't answer the door, despite knocks and the doorbell. 

Well, he'd grabbed his keys for a reason; Hale had given Dyson his spare key a long time ago. Unlocking the door, Dyson eased the door open, and was hit by a wave of musky excitement, sex, fear and submission. Silently, Dyson shut the door, rage flooding his veins. There were only two fresh scents in the house; Hale, and Kenzi. Dyson didn't even notice his vision shift and nails sharpen as he paced down the hallway towards the bedroom, the only room in the house with the light on. The smells he had first smelled upon entering the house only grew heavier and stronger, as did the feeling of dread in the pit of the wolf shifter's stomach.

The sight which greeted him was one he would not soon forget. Hale was naked, hips rocking back and forth, arms pinning the pale arms of the woman beneath him above her head, his face buried in her neck. Kenzi, completely nude except for lace underwear beneath his friend, staring blankly in his direction; a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Dyson didn't even stop to think. He charged into the room, grabbed Hale and threw him into the wall before placing himself between that and the bed. "What the hell are you doing, Hale?!" Dyson shouted. "You said you would protect her!"

Hale got up and spun to face him. "What I do with MY pet is none of your concern, shifter!" he spat.

"This is Kenzi, not just some human you've picked up off of the street!" Dyson retorted. "She matters to us! She matters to you, or have you forgotten all you tried to do when she went missing?!"

The Siren's eyes narrowed. "She belongs to me. What I do to her, and with her, is my business! And," he continued, "you are trespassing. Get. Out. Now."

Dyson fell into a crouch, placing himself between Hale and Kenzi. "Not without her."

Hale's face contorted, shrieking a high-pitch whistle. The wolf cried out in pain, hands clamped to his ears as Hale started to step towards him. Hale's fist caught him solidly on the side of the head, sending him crashing into the bedside table, almost knocking the lamp off. Dyson grabbed ahold of it as the Siren upped the frequency of his whistle, sending more shooting waves of pain through his head. When a dark hand closed on the shoulder of his leather jacket, Dyson whirled, slamming the stone base of the lamp into his opponent's temple. Hale's body crumpled to the floor.

Panting, Dyson's still-gold eyes sought Kenzi's crystal ones and failed. She was still on the bed, facing away from him, staring at the door, her body curled up and shaking. He knelt in front of her. She flinched when he reached out to wipe away another tear as it rolled down her face. After a moment she realized he was staring at her. "M-my lord?" she struggled to sit up. "How may I s-serve you?"

Dyson bit his tongue, holding back the first couple of things that came to his mind. Instead, he gently grasped her elbow, helping her off of the bed and leading her out of the room, snagging the as-of-yet unpacked duffle bag with her clothes in it from Bo. He set down the bag down only long enough to snag Kenzi's discarded shirt and sweats. "Put these on, Kenzi. We're leaving."

The small human obeyed silently, not seeming to notice Dyson's golden gaze on her, watching her, counting the bones showing through her skin; the scars, the burns, the brand; the bruises forming on her sides, arms, wrists, and neck. He growled softly as he slung the bag on one shoulder, and slipping the other arm around Kenzi's slim shoulders. He watched the path to his car he led on her on, wary of stones and broken glass before settling her in the front seat. Placing the bag on the back seat, Dyson climbed behind the wheel of his car and drove them away, the wheel creaking in his grip. A quiet sniffle made him relax, remembering how Kenzi was always sensitive to the moods of others. Taking a deep breath and letting out, he loosened his grip.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Kenzi," he said quietly, glancing over at her. He knew she wouldn't accept that fact, not this Kenzi. Not at first, perhaps never. But he could still try.

"Yes, my lord." She said softly, her gaze locked on his glove compartment.

No, she didn't believe him. He would have to prove it to her, slowly. He wouldn't let her out of his sight if he had to. Until he knew what the HELL was going on, why Hale had done what he had done, and maybe not even then, the Siren wouldn't be allowed anywhere near his Kenzi.

Dyson blinked. His Kenzi? He glanced over at the small human next to him. His wolf growled softly, seeing the bruises and scars on her skin, not to mention the ones underneath it all, on her mind, heart and soul. Along with the rage, there was contentedness as well. Content that Kenzi was with him now, under his protection. She was important to him, one of few people who mattered the most to him. She was safe now. She was with him, and now he could do his damndest to fulfill her the first part of her request, because he would never be able to do the other.

"Dyson… please… save me...or kill me."


	5. Empty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Mentions of past underage non-con. Scenes of abuse, non-con, and panic attacks. Pleae don't read if they might trigger you.

The heavy metal shackles around her slim wrists were tight, cutting into her tender wrists, strung up above her head to the ceiling. Her bare feet could hardly reach the stone floor. Clad in only the sleep tee she had been wearing, well, however many days and nights it had been before she'd been grabbed or whatever from Bo's shack. She didn't remember it at all. It was impossible to keep track of time and days in the pitch black of the room she was being kept in.

A bolt being drawn back into its rusted socket behind her made Kenzi try and twist around to face those entering, but pain lancing down from her wrists made her give up on that idea. Three figures walked into her view, all humanoid, though in the shadows, it was rather hard to tell race, gender or any of those other helpful things. So she settled for bravado. "Hey, dudes, dudettes, or whatever you are. How about letting my arms down for a little while?" she said, her voice raspy. "And some water and food would be nice too. Not too much though, gotta keep this nice figure of mine nice somehow. And –"

"Silence, slave!" growled one of them, his gravelly voice vaguely reminding her of D-man. "You will speak only when requested to do so!"

Kenzi blinked as her jaw fell open. "Slave? I'm nobody's slave, wolfie, you get that through your furry, thick skull right now!"

The shifter stepped in front of her. Next moment his fist connected with her jaw, her gut, her face. When he finally stopped, he said, "what part about silence did you not understand, human slave girl? Next time, I'll make it hurt!"

Kenzi spat blood onto the floor. Her instincts screamed at her to do what he said, but years of fending for herself by her wits and words was too strong. "That already did hurt, you great hairy idiot! And do you really think Bo, Dyson, Trick and Hale will let you get away with doing this to me?! Because they'll hunt you – ” crack! Another fist to her jaw.

One of the other figures who had entered the room laid a well-manicured hand on the shifter's arm before he could strike her again. "Careful now, Marcus. Don't want to damage the merchandise too much. You'll lower its value." The new voice was female, the owner of the fancy nails. She stepped forward until Kenzi could make her out. Honey colored hair fell in long waves over her shoulders, blue eyes glinted and red lips were turned upwards in a humorless smile. "My name is Sonyata Telazra," she informed the human in an accented voice, "As Marcus has already explained to you, in a way, I deal in slaves for both humans and Fae alike. I teach them what they need to know to do their duties, and do them well, no matter what those duties might be. You, though no longer pure, will still fetch a pretty penny, on the right block, with your pale skin and eyes, dark hair, and excellent body. Trust me when I tell you, learning and going along with it is a lot safer, and healthier for you than putting up a fight."

Staring at her in disbelief, all Kenzi could do is blink. After a moment, she asked, "So, let me get this straight. I've been kidnapped from my home by Dark Fae, who say they're going to train me to be a slave, doing God knows what, and are going to sell me? To who knows what kind or creature?! And you want me to just go along with it like a good little sheep? I don't think so, lady!" She spat another mouthful of blood, this time right into the blonde's face. "I'm nobody's slave, not ever!"

Marcus smashed his fists into her slim body over and over, some of the hits sending her swinging wildly from the ceiling. The pain in her wrists played in harmony with the blows the shifter laid on her. When he finally stopped, Kenzi could barely breathe. Her vision was blurred and one eye was sealed shut. Breathing was sharp and painful, especially on her right side.

Sonyata had wiped away the blood spit from her face, Kenzi noticed fuzzily, eyes blinking rapidly as she tried to clear her head and vision. "I see you've decided to be troublesome. Very well. We will do what we must to teach you it is in your best interests to do otherwise." She turned to Marcus. "Try not to break anything that it might need down the road. Other than that, do what you feel is necessary."

OoOoO

Kenzi woke up, blessedly no longer strung up, but instead on a pallet with a ragged sheet flung over her for warmth. She shifted her body, and it was then that the pain hit. Breathing felt like breathing fire, down into her lungs and exploding outward through her chest. One of her hands wouldn't close all the way; both arms and legs were more bruised than not. Her vision had cleared some, but her one eye still didn't want to open, and head felt like it had been run over by an 18-wheeler. And….

She forced herself to sit up. Blood spotted the pallet underneath her where her waist had rested. Shaking, Kenzi placed a hand to her lower abdomen, her breath hitching. "No," she whispered. "Not again…"

"You're awake, are you, child?" asked a voice, old, raspy and feminine. An old woman wrapped in rags emerged from the far side of the cell to kneel next to her. Her old, dark eyes were surrounded by wrinkles, but they were kind, and filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry, child… they forced themselves on you. Multiple times, trying to break you. Yet you continued to fight them, with words and with your body."

Kenzi's shaking worsened, images from her childhood, of her step-father and his brother. Belts, and whips, and blows, and… and…. "Not again," she whispered. "Why, again…." She looked up at the old woman, fighting back tears. The old woman shifted herself, sitting next to Kenzi and wrapping her arms around her.

"The brought in a Fear Eater, and looked into your mind, your heart, and saw all that you fear. Every last bit of it. I heard it all. They tortured you just down the hall." She tightened her arms around the shaking younger girl. Leaning closer, she whispered, "If you see someone who looks like someone you know, don't believe it. They may also try to use that to break you. Don't believe it, child! Listen with your heart, not your senses! Your heart will know real from imposter!"

Kenzi placed a hand over the old woman's. "They tried that with you, didn't they?"

"My sons, and my daughter… My only daughter. You remind me of her, a bit. Your fire, your spirit..." Her eyes closed briefly. "But that was in the past, and that is not now. Child, why do you fight them so? You'll only cause more grief for yourself!"

Kenzi shrugged, pulling the meager blanket over the two of them, her ribs and lower down protesting violently in the change in position, but at least they were a tad warmer. "Because it's who I am, Grandma. And I know my friends will come for me. For us! They'll take you with us, you can go back to your children!" Kenzi smiled shakily. "They'll come, I know they will! And soon!"

The old woman smiled sadly at her. "No one ever comes, child. No rescue, no friends, unless they also have been captured. The only ones who come are the Breakers, or the Changers. Occasionally someone will come down here to make a purchase, wanting to break their purchase themselves… or if they want a fighter, be it to mate, chase, or consume… but no rescues. Not ever."

"No!" Kenzi hissed. "My friends are different. They'll come for me, you'll see! And I'm going to keep fighting until they do!"

The old woman shook her head. "Then you will continue to suffer, child. The pain, the abuse and starvation, the rape. Is all of that really worth waiting for a rescue that will never come? Just accept your fate, and save yourself the anguish."

Kenzi shook her head. "I believe in my friends."

"Then, child, learn to enjoy your suffering." The old woman shifted next to her, getting onto her knees. "Because I love to dish it out!"

Kenzi gasped, trying to scramble away from the being. The skin of the old woman slipped slowly off of the figure, like hot wax or tar, puddling on the floor. In its place stood a nude male, concealed in the shadows except for his erect manhood. He grabbed Kenzi and shoved her against the wall, pressing himself against her.

"You should've listened, child." He purred. Kenzi's eyes widened.

"No…" she whimpered. "You're not him, he's gone! He's far away!"

The man shook his head, rocking his hips into hers. "No I'm not. I'm right here, child. And such a lovely young woman you have become. Makes me even more eager to take you over, and over, and over again." He leaned forward, his lips next to her ear. "Just like when you were younger, all those years ago. Are you still as tight as you used to be? I hope so!" He shouted, flinging her down on the bed and mounting her hips.

Kenzi's fists hit his chest, his face, his arms as he pinned her beneath him. "Still the weak little thing, aren't you? All you have are your words, and those will do you no good here. We have hours and hours all to ourselves! Let's enjoy this quality time!"

OoOoO

Kenzi's screams and pleads echoed down the halls and up through the stone and wood floors. In a room two floors above the Training area Sonyata sat an ornately carved table placed in front of an open stone arch leading to a huge garden. Re-reading a letter for the third time, she looked for any hidden tics or hints that it might be a forgery. But it wasn't. She raised a glass of a blood-red liquid in a toast. "Looks like we have a buyer for you, Kenzi, and they don't need you pretty and whole. They just need you living. And broken." She smiled, and drank.

OoOoO

Dyson sat on the edge of his bed, watching Kenzi twist and moan beneath the sheets as she lived out yet another nightmare he couldn't save her from. She stank of fear, pain, and betrayal. He longed to comfort her, but didn't dare touch her for fear of triggering another nightmare. Or worse, she could emerge from the nightmare with it still clinging to her, and believe it had been him hurting her. He couldn't bare that. Earlier he had been forced to touch her during a calm period, only to rewrap her wrists after her thrashing had caused her to bleed through her bandages.

The shifter gritted his teeth as more tears streaked down the human's pale face, her thin body curled in ball, arms wrapped around her abdomen. He didn't need his sensitive nose to know which memories she was reliving.

"Oh, Kenzi," he murmured. "I'm trying to save you. I just… I'm not sure how to just yet."

The chiming of his cell phone interrupted what else he'd been about to say. Glancing at the caller ID, Dyson snarled softly.

Hale

If he didn't answer it, the Siren might come looking for him, and for Kenzi. He didn't want his ex-partner anywhere near the human girl, not now, not ever. "What the hell do you want, Hale?!" he demanded.

"It's Kenzi! She's missing! I woke up on the floor of my room, the whole thing looks like there was a huge fight! Stuff has been knocked over, there's a hole in the wall. And Kenzi's missing! We have to find her!" Hale shouted without taking a breath. "I can't tell where or who or why! I haven't received anything from anyone about her! I don't remember anything happening, either!"

Dyson blinked in disbelief. "Are you trying to tell me you don't remember anything from last night?" he ground out.

"What? Not really." Replied Hale. "I mean, I remember being at the Dahl, Kenzi went nuts and slashed her wrists – what the hell difference does it make?! Kenzi's missing, and hurt in more ways than one in case you'd forgotten, shifter! We have to find her. We can worry about my bloody missing memories later!"

"Your missing memories are part of the reason she's missing, you idiot!" Dyson hissed, trying to keep his voice low so he didn't wake Kenzi up. "Let me tell you what happened. I wanted to stop by your place last night and see how Kenzi was doing. So I did. When I got there, you were standing with your door open, no shirt, no shoes. Guess who you were talking to, Hale. Guess!"

In the background, Dyson heard Hale slam a drawer shut. "I don't know! My sister?"

"No. The Empress."

"Why the hell would the Empress stop by my place instead of – you know what it doesn't matter. Kenzi matters! Where is she? We have to find her before – "

"Before what," interrupted Dyson. "Before they attack her, beat her, and rape her?"

"Yes!"

"That is what I caught you doing to Kenzi soon after the Empress left! What, did she interrupt your little, little fun time with Kenzi? And now you think that, after I caught you and beat the shit out of you for it, that by pretending to have gotten amnesia that everything will just be alright?!"

"What I – what I did to Kenzi?" demanded Hale. "I would never, _ever_ do that to her!"

"Well you did, Hale," snarled Dyson softly. "Be glad that Kenzi was there, and I didn't want to scare her any more than you already had, or I'd have killed you for what you did to her."

A bed creaked on Hale's side of the line. "Dyson… Dyson you know me, you know I wouldn't do that, especially not to Kenzi," Hale pleaded. "Not Kenzi, and never anyone who was in the mental and physical shape she's in… I would never force _anyone."_ He took a shaky breath. "I take it you took her with you?"

"Yeah I took her with me! You think I'd leave her there, with you, to be attacked again?"

Hale snapped, "For the last time, Dyson, I would never, ever do something like that! Never! I, I something must've been done me to do that to her!"

"You've wanted her for a long time, Siren," Dyson snarled. "Don't think I haven't noticed how you look at her, at the lust you feel for her. I could smell it every time you were near her, or she was even mentioned before she went missing! Even afterwards, after she was given to you, I could still smell the rank stench of your lust!"

"Of course you could smell that, you fool! I was and am attracted to her!" Hale snapped. "I wanted to sleep with her, thus the lust! Are you really that much of a fool?"

"Wanted her so much, you decided to force her, even though in her current state she would've slept with you willingly?!"

"No!"

"Liar!" Dyson snarled. "I smelled nothing alien in that house, no drugs, no other creatures that might've triggered your… actions… last night. You did that all on your own. You will stay away from her, and me, do you understand that, Siren? If you try and see her, if you approach her in ANY way, or send anyone in your stead, they and you will all die!"

The shifter snapped his phone shut and turned around.

Kenzi, wide-eyed, was pressed into the corner of the loft, staring at him. Mentally cursing, Dyson slowly raised his hands, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

"W-where am I?" she whispered.

"You're in my loft. You're safe, Kenzi. No one else is going to hurt you, I swear." He took a step forward but when she flinched, he halted.

Kenzi glanced around, eyes flitting as much as her body was shaking. "Your l-loft?" he eyes darted back to him. "Y-your face…"

Dyson remained where he was. "What about it?" he asked.

"Familiar…It's… familiar. I-I think…" She wrapped her arms tightly around her chest. "Why?"

Slowly, Dyson walked around the bed and sat on the far corner of it, facing the human. "My name is Dyson, I'm a friend of yours. I have been for over four years now."

"Dyson," she repeated, a small crease forming between her brows, her eyes on the floor. "you're a… a friend?"

"Yeah, a friend, Kenzi," replied Dyson. "You used to call me D-man, and Wolf-man."

Kenzi's pale eyes flickered up to his. "Wolf…man?"

"I'm Fae, Light Fae. A wolf shifter. Do you remember? You saw my wolf form a few times. First time was dealing with the Kappas, at a nearby university."

After a moment, Kenzi said haltingly, "A silver wolf," she whispered. "A s-silver wolf with golden eyes." She looked up at him. "You?"

Dyson nodded. "Yeah. That's me, Kenz."

Kenzi's body shook as crumpled to the ground. Dyson leapt to his feet and crouched near her shaking body, afraid to get too close. She looked wide-eyed at her bandaged wrists and scarred arms, then up at him. "Dyson? Dyson, wh-what's going on? I c-can't rememb-ber…" she started to hyperventilate. "I-I remember… Hale, he-he-he…" she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed herself into the corner. "My h-head… why can't I remember… why c-can't I remember anyth-thing…" she looked up at the Shifter, eyes panicked. "All I remember is Sonyata, and Marcus… and… and…" she buried her face again. "And m-my step-father… they were all there, and others… for s-so long…"

Dyson could smell her tears, even if he couldn't see them. He vaguely recognized the first name Kenzi mentioned as an underground Dark Fae slave trader who dealt mainly in humans for other humans and for Fae. Those who didn't pass her initial exams were typically sold for living food. Her methods of breaking a stubborn acquisition were said to be… horrendous. Using physical and mental torture, delving into the minds of the humans to find out what they feared the most, and then using it to break them. Marcus, he assumed, was one of her employees. Since his name wasn't familiar, he was most likely a grunt, someone who dealt mainly with the physical aspects of her company. But her step-father… most likely a physical Shifter. But why… that was something to contemplate at a later time.

"Kenzi, do you remember me at all?" Dyson asked quietly.

Face still hidden, she shrugged. "K-kinda, Wolfie." She looked over at him. "I remember… I-I remember you helping me, sometimes. I remember…" her eyes drifted away from his face. "we…. We switched bodies, once." Dyson smiled at the memory as she continued, "B-but nothing else, really." Her eyes went back to his face. "Why help me, why help me, Dyson?"

Dyson knew, but putting instincts and feelings into words had never been his strong point, and probably never would be. He sighed. "Because you matter to me, Kenz. You're strong, you're a fighter. You kick tail so well, for a human." He smiled. "you're not afraid to put me in my place, even when I growl at you. You're so stubborn, girl."

Kenzi sniffed, eyes on the floor. "Th-that's not me, Dyson. I'm not like that. I'm just a slave. I'm obedient. I serve and do what I'm told to do. I should be doing that right now for you. What do you want me to do, my lord?"

Dyson moved closer, so he was crouched right in front of her. "Kenzi, please look at me." When he had her attention, he continued, "That was you. That is you, inside. I don't know what happened to you after you were taken from us, but I know the real you is still inside, somewhere. They just hurt you enough that eventually you locked that Kenzi away to keep her safe. Why do you think you have so many scars all over your body? You're a fighter, and you fought them long and hard. And now, I'm here to make sure that never happens again, so you can heal and find yourself again." He stopped, not sure what else to say. For him, that had been one huge speech. He wasn't used to being so sentimental.

Pale eyes gazed unblinkingly at the Shifter. "A-all of the scars? You m-mean, I wasn't like th-this before?"

Slowly, so he didn't frighten her, Dyson reached out and took one of her hands. "You had no scars, save for this one," he tapped one, which spanned almost her entire forearm and went completely around it. "This you got for attacking a very, very powerful Fae, on my behalf. I surrendered to this Fae something of mine to save someone I deeply cared for. You went and attacked her to get it back for me. You got it, but got hurt in the process."

"I… I helped you?" she asked softly, her eyes distant. "Your love… f-for someone… that's what you gave up…"

Dyson nodded. "Yeah. But you got it back for me. When I found out what you'd done… at the time I didn't know whether to call you brave or foolish." He smiled. "But in hindsight, it was both. But I was so thankful, am so thankful, for what you did for me… so, Thank you, Kenzi."

Kenzi shook her head. "I would never do something like that… not unless I was told to… I'm not brave."

Dyson covered the hand he still held with his other hand. "Yes you are, Kenz. You're brave, loyal, sweet, caring, kick-ass… that's why you're so important to me. Not as a thing, not as a pet or a belonging. But as Kenzi, a human. My friend."

Kenzi yanked herself back as if slapped. "You're not real." She whispered hoarsely. "you're not real, you're not real…" she started rocking.

"Kenzi, Kenzi!" Dyson grabbed her hand again. "Please look at me! Do I look real, or fake? Would a fake know as much as I do about you?"

"Reader Sh-shifter," she murmured distractedly. "They… they d-did that to me… b-before." She looked up at him. "How do I know y-you're not part of th-that?"

Dyson settled down in front of her. "I remember the first time I saw you, in that alley downtown. We were only supposed to snatch Bo, the person you were with and you were left behind. Safe, but left behind. Somehow you tracked us, broke into a Fae complex, and saved Bo's life. From then on the two of you worked together to solve crimes that were Fae related. One time you had to go undercover with a blonde wig and act all preppy and where pink to get into a college Sorority." He chuckled at the memory. "That was the first time you saw my wolf form. You couldn't wait to tell Bo." He continued on, story after story from his memories about her, trying to convince her he was himself, that he could be trusted. That he would keep her safe.

"And then you just… vanished, Kenz." He said. "We tried, we all tried, so hard to find you. Bo, Trick… we all did. But then the new Ash… she put a Gag on any of us she could so we literally couldn't help search and find you. We tried, but… we literally couldn't. One time I tried to shift to track you in wolf form, after the Gag had been put into place. I got stuck halfway through the shift for two days in the middle of the woods. Only people not affected by it were Bo and Trick, and Trick can only do so much. Bo never stopped trying though." Dyson shifted to his knees in front of Kenzi and clasped her frail hand in his two big ones. "Despite that, I still should've found a way to help find you. Maybe if I had, I might've found you sooner, before all of this." He touched one of the long scars on her arm, running from shoulder to elbow and almost an inch wide. "I'm sorry, Kenzi. I'm so very sorry."

Kenzi had watched him silently as he had told her everything, pale eyes never leaving his own. She didn't flinch away from him, but neither did her body relax. Finally she said, "I don't remember the th-things you've just told m-me. It doesn't s-sound like me…" she trailed off for a moment. "And yet y-your face, your eyes, your v-voice… they all seem so f-familiar. But I d-don't know w-why."

Dyson gave her a small smile. "Well, that's something, at least." He gave her hand a small squeeze. "Well what do you say? Do you feel you can trust me at all?" Kenzi hesitated. "I-I don't know." She looked down at their clasped hands. "I-I know I know you from s-somewhere, and that it was a g-good thing, b-but that's all I can r-remember. W-why can't I remember, Dyson? W-why is everything a b-blank?"

"I don't know, Kenzi," he replied quietly. "Amnesia is a strange thing. It could be chemical, magical, or human. I do believe, however, that with time you could remember a lot of your past. We just need to be patient."

"We?" asked Kenzi.

Dyson shifted back to a sitting position. "You and I. I'd like you to stay here, away from Hale for now. I don't want to be anywhere near him after what he did to you." He raised a hand to stop what she was about to say. "And no, he didn't have that right, not to you, no matter what you were trained to think. If you'd rather go elsewhere, it can be arranged. Bo's place, where you used to live would be another option. I know she'd love to have you back with her, so would Lauren. Just… don't go back to Hale, please Kenzi." He hadn't failed to notice the fear that had flashed through her eyes every time Hale's name was mentioned, or the smell of fear and pain.

"W-won't I get into trouble, being away from… him… without h-his permission?" Kenzi asked. "I-I probably should go b-back. I don't want to g-get into trouble." She tried to struggle to her feet. Dyson gently grabbed her arms and pulled her back into a seated position.

"I'll work it out with him," Dyson replied. "He can say he's… loaning you to me or something." Seeing the fresh look of panic in her eyes, he added quickly, "That'll just be the story we'll tell anyone who asks, Kenzi, that's it! I won't do anything to you, I promise!"

The look and scent didn't fade away completely, but Dyson could live with that. A sliver of trust was better than none at all.

OoOoO

After suggesting Kenzi settled on the bed once more, Dyson made a phone call. He didn't want to make it, but it was better done sooner rather than later.

"Lauren," said a feminine voice on the other line.

"Hey it's Dyson. Can you and Bo come over to my place, as soon as possible? There's some things I need to discuss with you both."

Dyson could hear Bo's voice in the background, demanding to know what the hell he wanted now. Ignoring her, Lauren asked, "Sure, but what's up? Are you ok?"

"It's a long story, one I'd rather tell in person. Just tell Bo that Kenzi is here with me, for her own protection." He hung up.

A moment later his phone went off. Suspecting that it was either Bo or Lauren, he ignored it. After four rings, it went silent. Then rang again, and went silent.

The third time it went off, Dyson grabbed it to turn it off, when he noticed the caller.

Hale

Snapping it open, he demanded, "What the hell do you want now, Hale?"

"I'm outside. Come down so we can talk."

The outer door nearly burst off its hinges as Dyson blew through the outer doors. Outside, Hale leaned against the front of his car. The Siren was dressed in his typical well-cut suit, complete with a matching fedora. A bruise on his cheekbone stood out faintly against his dark skin. He didn't even flinch when Dyson strode right up to him, his face inches away from his own.

"What part of try and see her and I'll kill you didn't you get, Siren?!" Snarled the wolf, shoving the other Fae into the side of his car.

Hale impatiently pushed the wolf away. "You hung up on me, remember? And I figured you'd be more likely to listen to me if I came to you, and still was keeping my distance from Kenzi." A pained look shadowed his eyes. "How is she? Did I…? I didn't…" he brow furrowed as he trailed off.

"Yes! Yes you did! You forced her!" Dyson growled, his eyes flashing between normal and gold. "She was laying beneath you, crying when I tore you off of her. And then she still expected me to use her as well!"

Dyson could see the pain and remorse in Hale's eyes, but he ignored it. He didn't know what was truth and what wasn't with the siren anymore. He could smell truth, but he also knew how the siren felt about the broken human probably still huddled in the corner of his loft.

"Please, Dyson. Please at least try and believe me." Hale dug into his pocket and took out a crystal chained to a delicate silver key. When Dyson just stared at it, he grabbed the shifter's hand and thrust them into it. "If you have her here without this, they'll take her by force, and won't be gentle with her. If anyone asks, I'm loaning her to you while I visit family."

Dyson stared at his friend. "You hate visiting your family. Where are you going, really?"

"To find answers. For Kenzi. Keep her safe." He opened his car door.

Dyson grabbed Hale's arm. "How do I know you're being honest, about everything?"

Hale sighed. "Because you know me. Yes, I'm attracted to her. But never, ever to the point you saw last night. Whatever that was, that wasn't me. Not really. I'm going to find answers. Keep your ears open, okay?"

Dyson nodded and released his partner's arm.

As Hale's car turned the far corner, Bo's beat-up yellow one took its place parked in front of his place. The car was barely parked and its engine turned off before Bo jumped out of the driver's seat. She stormed up to him. "What the hell happened now? And where is Kenzi?"

Dyson waited until Lauren was beside Bo before answering. "Kenzi's upstairs in my place." He sighed. Best to be blunt and to the point, and just hope Bo didn't attack him – again – for it. "Something happened to Hale. We're still trying figure out how it happened."

Bo took another step towards him, planting herself directly in front of him, their faces inches apart as she ground out, "And what, exactly, is this "it" that happened?"

"Hale involuntarily attacked Kenzi. He doesn't remember any of it."

"He  _what?!"_ she snarled, eyes blazing.

Lauren laid a hand on Bo's arm, forestalling her lover's anger. "Bo, relax. She's safe now, and that's what matters." She turned to look at Dyson. "How is Kenzi?" Dyson turned and headed into the lower landing of his place, closing the door behind the two women before he answered. "She's as good as she can be. She remembers what happened. But… she's also starting to remember other things."

"What other things?" Bo asked suspiciously.

The shifter sighed again. "She remembers me. Me, from before she vanished. Barely, but she does. I don't know if she'll recognize you, or Lauren, but she might. Be patient with her, Bo, or you'll have to leave."

Bo snorted. "I'd like to see you try."

Dyson's eyes flashed gold briefly. "When I'm protecting Kenzi, you'd be surprised at what I could do." Before the succubus could reply, he turned and headed up the stairs. After a moment, he heard them both climbing up behind him.

Just as he thought, Kenzi was still in the corner he'd left her in, despite suggesting that she lay down again before he stormed out to confront Hale. Her head shot up when the door opened, eyes flitting from his face to Bo and Lauren. She was shaking, her skin paler than usual. Behind him he heard the women's footsteps halt in the doorway, which he appreciated. Slowly, he knelt in front of Kenzi.

"D-Dyson?" she murmured. "Is ev-everything ok?" her eyes flitted back to the two women. She flinched when Dyson touched her arm. Wordlessly he helped her to her feet and settled her on the bed.

"I'm going to order you a pizza, Kenz, so just relax for now, ok?" He wrapped her in a blanket.

Kenzi clutched said blanket around herself like a lifeline. "Pizza?" she looked confused. "I like pizza, don't I?"

Dyson smiled, squeezing her hand. This time she didn't flinch away from him. "Yes, almost as much as you like your drinks off of the top shelf."

The human looked at him confusedly for a moment. Then she gave him a small, half smile that faded quickly. But it had been there. She glanced again at the two behind him. "Who're they? Friends of yours?" Her body twitched. "Of mine, from… from before?"

"Both, Kenz. Do you mind if they come over and say hello? I'd like the doctor to change your bandages anyway."

Bo and Lauren approached when Kenzi nodded hesitantly. Bo hung back as Lauren settled herself on the dilapidated mattress next to Kenzi, opening her medical bag and taking out fresh bandage supplies.

From the opposite end of the loft, Dyson shut his phone, the pizza order complete. He stayed where he was, watching the three women across the room. Half-formed recognition flitted in and out of Kenzi's eyes when she glanced sidelong at Bo, though she remained silent. By the single look Lauren sent him over Bo's shoulder, he knew she'd seen it too, though Bo seemed oblivious.

His phone rang in his hand.

"Dyson."

"The Empress has requested your presence tonight. Seven PM. Be there."

OoOoO


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: semi-graphic attempted sexual assault, and reference to self harm  
> Other Warning: mention/reference to bestiality by our favorite psycho bitch!

Chapter Nine

" _The Empress has requested your presence. Seven PM. Be there."_

Click. Silence.

Dyson slowly turned around. Bo was retelling the tale of how her and Kenzi had first been introduced to the Fae world. Kenzi was half listening, the other half dancing around the room with her eyes, but she would smile once in a while, partial recognition flitting in and out of her eyes, of Bo, if not the memories.

Lauren glanced up and saw his face, her hands pausing in their movement of wrapping black Vetwrap around Kenzi's wrist; she told him once that she found Vetwrap lasted longer than its human medical counterpart. Bo, catching sight of her girlfriend's face, stopped her story to turn and look at him; Kenzi froze at the sudden movement. Noticing, she placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. "Dyson, what's wrong?"

The shifter sighed. "The Empress has summoned me. I cannot refuse, not without endangering myself and Kenzi."

"She's probably heard that you're now in possession of Kenzi," Lauren said. Bo turned to glare at her. "It's how she would see it, Bo." She looked up at Dyson. "You can't leave her alone. I'd stay, but I'm already going to have to spend at least two hours in the shower scrubbing just to get her scent off of me, not to mention wearing gods-awful strong perfume to cover up anything that remains." She looked over at the Succubus. "I know we had dinner plans, but I think you should stay here with her."

"I agree," Dyson said as he came level with them. He met the doctor's eyes briefly before meeting Bo's eyes. "Please stay with Kenzi, Bo. Lauren's right, I don't want her left alone. For her safety. I don't want another incident like the Dal, or Hale's place."

Bo nodded. "Yeah, sure. I don't mind." She sat back down next to Kenzi, who was still sitting frozen on the bed, eyes trained on the floor. "Kenzi?" she said softly.

When she didn't respond, Dyson crouched down in front of Kenzi. "Hey, Kenzi. Snap out of it." He placed a hand on her knee. She jumped, her whole body going rigid as her eyes slowly looked up to his. The shifter smiled. "Hey, you."

Uncertainly, Kenzi smiled back. "Hey," she replied, her voice scratchy from disuse. 

"Bo is going to stay with you for a couple of hours. I have to go to a meeting." Dyson told her firmly, purposefully neglecting to tell her with whom. "She will take care of you, and you will listen to her. No running off, not hurting yourself or her." Gently he reached up and cupped her cheek. Without looking over at the Succubus, he added, "And she will be nice and patient with you, and won't hurt you. But if someone not bearing a pass-code from me, feel free to hurt them as much as needed to protect yourselves."

Bo, at first looking hurt at his orders to not hurt Kenzi – like she would ever do that! – stopped the words before they left her mouth. His eyes were not on her, but on Kenzi. He was only trying to reassure Kenzi, their precious human, that she wouldn't hurt her. Lauren and Dyson might think her oblivious a lot of the time, but she had seen the fear and uncertainty in Kenzi's face and eyes, and how she held her body stiffly, as if waiting for one or more of her friends to attack her and… she didn't even want to go where that thought led. She knew,  _knew,_  what her Kenzi had been… trained, to do, and everything else. She wanted to make sure it never happened to her again, and gods help anyone who tried.

OoOoOoO

The remains of the pizza rested in their box like a casket. Lauren had already left, and Dyson was getting ready to leave. Kenzi sat rigidly in her seat, half a pizza slice sitting in front of her. Bo glanced at her and then at Dyson. "What's this meeting all about? Kenzi?"

The shifter slid a shirt over his head before answering. "Most likely. Just keep her here, and keep her safe. Don't answer the door unless it's me, or they have the passphrase from me." He nodded to the bag she had brought in before Lauren had left with their car; a sword handle stuck out one end. "Do whatever you have to do. If you need to run, run. If you need to fight, fight. Kill, kill. Keep yourself and Kenzi safe. Try and get her to shower as well."

Bo nodded. "I'll keep her safe, trust me." Her voice was harder than she meant it to be. She still hadn't forgiven him for not helping her, even though she knew it wasn't his fault. She forced her alter-ego/nature to calm down. There was no current threat to her human. "What's the passphrase?"

"Where you fought your first Fae test. Glass Factory." He smiled softly down at her.

She watched as he touched Kenzi's shoulder, reminding her that he was leaving, would be back, and that she was staying with his friend Bo, who was also her friend. The shifter gently kissed the human's forhead before heading for the door; Bo followed him. "Will…do you think our Kenzi will ever come back?" she asked quietly.

Dyson glanced over her shoulder. "One day, maybe. We just need to be patient."

"Yeah, I know." She smiled. "Be safe, Dyson."

He returned her smile. "You know me, Mr. Safety. Oh before I forget…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver skeleton key with a crystal hanging from it. "Just in case. This is to show you have ownership of Kenzi. To keep her safe from slave hunters," he added hurriedly before she could jump to conclusions and blow up at him. "That's all." He gave her one last smile before closing the door behind him; Bo locked it.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around. Kenzi was kneeling on the floor, hands clasped behind her and head bowed. Swallowing her anger, Bo gently took the human's elbow and helped her to her feet. "None of that," she said cheerfully. "Go take a shower, and I'll clean up."

Kenzi glanced at her, clearly fighting down the impulse to say it was her job to clean up, but the need to obey orders had been deeply ingrained, and Bo seethed at the thought. But seeing even the thought of an argument in her friend's eyes gave the Succubus some solace. In silence, she wrapped plastic wrap around Kenzi's bandaged wrists to keep them dry before sending the human off to the shower. Once she heard the water turn on, she headed to the kitchen. Cleaning up didn't take long; washing three cups and tossing out the paper plates and pizza box was about it. She did notice in the recyclable bin shards of broken glass that looked similar to the glasses she knew Dyson had in his cupboard. A quick check confirmed that the remains were from them. She wasn't sure she wanted to know how so many had been broken at once, but marked them down in her memory as possible weapons, or worse, something Kenzi could use on herself if she found them.

A scream from the shower made her bolt across the loft. "Kenzi!" she shouted. "Kenzi are you alright?!" She all but tore the shower door off its hinges to get to her friend.

Kenzi, knees skinned from her fall was huddled on the floor of the shower, sobbing in a panic attack, her arms wrapped around her slight frame and nails digging into the opposite shoulder. Tugging at her hands, Bo got her to stop before she drew blood.

Eyes wide and unfocused, Kenzi gasped out, "Bo? Bo where am I? what… what happened… why does it hurt so much?!"

Bo pulled her friend into her arms, a tear running down her own face. "I'm right here, Kenz. I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you. I tried! I tried I promise but I couldn't find you, I couldn't, I couldn't save you…"

Kenzi curled into her friend's chest, oblivious to her lack of clothing. "Oh, Bobo… I knew you'd come. I waited and waited and waited…" She shook, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. "I tried. I tried to stay strong, for you, Bo. I did. But then…  _he_ came, and…" she didn't continue.

Bo tightened her arms around her friend. She didn't know who this  _he_  was, but he had just jumped to the top of her To Kill list. Placing a kiss on Kenzi's temple, she reached up and turned off the water before snagging the thick towel and wrapping it around Kenzi's slim shoulders. She tried to ignore the bones protruding from her friend's back; from all over her body. She tried to ignore how light the human was as she carried her over to the bed and covering her with blankets in an effort to stop the shaking though she didn't seem cold. Bo knew she couldn't call Lauren and ask what to do, not without risking them all with the Empress. Not knowing what else to do, she laid down next to her friend, pulling her against her and held her. Even after she had passed out, Kenzi continued to shake until eventually she fell into a deeper sleep. But even then, Bo still held her.

OoOoOoO

Dyson growled inwardly, toying with his mostly empty wineglass. He didn't need to be here for this meeting, the first of several to plan yet another ball for a noble who had pleased her. He had people within his command who could have attended in his place. The Empress must want something, he concluded as he set the glass down. But what that something was he had no idea.

"I hear Hale has left his pretty little toy with you to enjoy while he visits his family," The Empress said suddenly, a single thin eyebrow arched suggestively at him. "Are you enjoying her to your fullest? You could take her  _any_  way that you wanted." She added, much to the amusement of most who were seated at the table.

Dyson took another sip of wine to give himself a moment to calm down after the suggestion that he – no. He didn't even want to  _think_  of the idea of sleeping with Kenzi, let alone taking her in his other form. He knew some shifters enjoyed that; he wasn't one of them.

Setting the glass back down, he met her gaze evenly. "That isn't my thing, Empress. I much prefer being in this form. So many more options this way."

The Empress laughed, as he had meant her to. Nothing else was said on the matter, and the meeting continued on without incident, other than Dyson fighting to stay awake as it dragged on into its third hour. Eventually, the Empress claimed exhaustion and dismissed everyone but Dyson, who remained seated where he was.

After the last Fae had walked out, she locked the door behind them and walked over to the shifter, her hips twitching suggestively. When she saw she didn't fully have his attention, she leaned against the table beside him with one hip, then leaned over onto one elbow, drawing her feet up behind her. Slowly, she walked her fingers up his chest. "You know, you didn't fool me, Dyson," she purred. "You, too have not yet taken that human. She's there to be taken, my fine young wolf. Why not make use of her? She is highly trained in many of the loving arts," she added, her eyes half lidded as she watched him.

He sighed. He had known something like this would happen. "She isn't my type, my Empress. I'm not attracted to her."

"Hmm," the Empress replied. Suddenly she sat upright. "If you say so. Dismissed, Dyson."

Suspicious as to why he was suddenly being released, the shifter slowly got to his feet. Bowing briefly, he left. As he closed the door, he could hear the Empress laughing, the tones following him down the halls as he left.

OoOoOoO

When he finally returned to his loft, Dyson found both women asleep. Bo, on top of the sheets, was curled around Kenzi, was all but swallowed up by the white bedsheets. Taking a step inside and turning to close the door, he tripped over the bag of garbage. Cursing, the shifter stumbled and closed the door, not missing to hiss of metal being drawn out of a sheath. Slowly, he turned around to face Bo, sword in hand, between him and the bed; in the bed, Kenzi's eyes had snapped open, but she hadn't moved.

"Oh, it's you. You scared me!" Bo snapped, sheathing the sword.

"Of course it's me." He took a couple of steps forward. "Who else would it be?"

Bo tossed the now sheathed sword down onto the bed. "Oh, I don't know, any number of Light or Dark Fae that might like to tan your hide, or mine, or come after Kenzi? Isn't that why you left me here with her?"

Dyson held up his hands in surrender. "Gee, sorry I asked, Bo. Sorry."

Bo sighed heavily. "Anyway, how was your meeting? Did – " she broke off, seeing Dyson's slight shake of the head. "Did anyone cause you trouble?"

"Not more than I expected," he replied. Glancing over Bo's shoulder, he gave Kenzi a smile, which she didn't return. "No progress I see," he said softly to Bo.

"What?" Bo glanced over her shoulder at Kenzi, who was now staring at the bedsheets. "Damn it," she muttered. "She remembered me, Dyson. For a little while she remembered me!"

Dyson ran a hand through his hair. "It seems to go in spurts, her remembering or not remembering. It's nothing to get upset about, Bo. It's going to take time."

Bo gave a sigh of her own. "Yeah I know. I just wish it'd hurry up and return already. Her memory I mean."

The shifter smiled. "Same here. And thank you for staying with her for me."

A honking from outside cut off whatever Bo had been about to say. "That must be Lauren," she said distractedly. "Are you sure you'll be alright here with her?"

"Yes, Bo. If we need something we'll call you."

Bo grabbed the sword and bag, stopping briefly to touch Kenzi's shoulder before leaving, the door swinging shut behind her.

Once he had locked the door and turned around, Dyson was hit full force with Kenzi's scent, untainted by the presence of Bo. Clean, sweet yet spicy, sad, and  _Kenzi_. Unbidden and unwanted, pictures of the small human beneath him, around him, touching him,clouded his vision. He stumbled, unsure of he was moving backwards or forwards. "No," he whispered.

On the bed, Kenzi sat up slowly, holding a single sheet up in front of her body, her eyes on him. Again, the visions of him… and her… Dyson snarled, fighting his own body as it responded to the images. "No!" he shouted. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Kenzi start to get up. He closed his eyes tightly, still attempting to fight his body. This must be what had happened to Hale…

He lost track of time for a moment. When time seemed to settle, and he felt in control of himself and  _whatever_  had possessed him to think so about his Kenzi, he opened his eyes.

He was crouched on the bed, and Kenzi was sprawled out beneath him, the sheets around her waist; the edge of a towel barely covered her breasts. His shirt was missing, as was his belt. Kenzi's eyes stared emptily over his shoulder, a single tear dripping down her temple to be absorbed by the pillow. Her scent hit him again, tinging the edges of his vision in red with lust.

_"Mine."_


	7. Mine

" _Mine."_

Dyson froze, pain from his locked joints – courtesy of his wolf warring with whatever the Empress had drugged him with – shaking his body. He roared as his mind was filled with more images of Kenzi screaming beneath him.

"NO!" he snarled. "She is mine!"

He tasted blood; later, he would realize he'd bitten his own lip with elongated canines, not bitten Kenzi. Later, he would remember the salty scent of Kenzi's tears, bitter fear, and resignation to death. But currently, it was all he could do to lock himself into place so he didn't act on whatever action-controlling aphrodisiac he had been poisoned with. He couldn't hurt the sweet human beneath him… but he wasn't sure how much longer he could fight the drug.

"Do it, Dyson. Do it, and then kill me."

The whispered request broke through the wolf's warring mind. Forcing his eyes open, he looked down at the goth woman under him. He looked at her in confusion. "What?" he whispered through clenched teeth, hoping he had misheard his favorite human.

But he didn't get an answer. Kenzi's eyes glazed over, her eyes fixed at some point behind him. She was barely breathing as she hid inside herself. Brow furrowed, he reached out to touch her face; the moment his skin touched hers the visions, the sounds and sensations returned full force, urging him to take her, over and over until she bleeding and screaming beneath him, to taste her blood, and –

" _Enough_!" he snarled, throwing himself away from the bed and Kenzi. Pain slammed through his body. He felt as he was on a rack, being burned alive and blown apart from the inside all at once. He knew,  _he knew_ , if he took Kenzi like the drug was urging him to do the pain would end. Shaking his head violently in an effort to think somewhat rationally, body bent in pain, he did the only thing he could think of; he shifted, hoping the drug would affect the wolf far less than the human part of him. The wolf saw Kenzi as a packmate, someone to protect from everything. He did too, but the instincts of a drugged wolf was stronger than the desires of a drugged man.

If anything, shifting made the pain worse. His joints screamed like metal grating on metal. He had never felt such pain before. But the images of Kenzi lessened as he pushed through the agony and finished shifting. Immediately the pain dulled, the desire lessened to a point that was fightable, though not ignorable. He shook himself, throwing off the memories of the pain and doing his best to ignore the current. Whining, he checked on Kenzi, who was still tucked away inside of herself, eyes half-lidded and staring into nothingness. Gingerly he got up on the bed and curled up at the foot, between the bed and door, being careful to not touch her.

He would protect her from the worlds. From the fae and the humans. And especially from himself.

OoOoO

Two sets of footsteps a couple hours later clattering up the stairs to the loft brought both Dyson and Kenzi to immediate wakefulness. The former to his feet and snarling, the latter squeaked, yanking the sheet up to cover herself.

Bo, followed by Lauren entered without knocking and stopped dead at the sight of a huge silver wolf snarling… and a naked, sheet-clad Kenzi standing against the wall behind the bed. She rounded on the wolf, who had stopped snarling when he recognized the intruders.

"What the  _hell_  did you do to Kenzi?!" she growled out. "Of all people! How could  _you_  hurt her?!" Her eyes glowed blue. "You were supposed to  _protect_  her from the likes of the Empress's people, not rape her yourself!"

She stomped towards him, when two soft-spoken words halted her. "He didn't."

Glancing away from Dyson, she looked over at Kenzi, who was now being supported by Lauren. "Did he tell you to say that, Kenz? You don't need to listen to his orders, you know."

Kenzi shook her head. "No, Bobo," she said, gathering strength from the contact with Lauren. "He didn't hurt me."

Three sets of eyes stared at her. Bo forgot about Dyson and ran over to her best friend; behind her Dyson shifted to human and grabbed a pair of pants from the hamper.

"You recognize her, Kenzi?" Lauren asked, moving to face Kenzi and look into her eyes, her hands gentle as they felt for a pulse on her neck since her wrists were still bandaged.

With a heavy, shaking sigh, the girl nodded. She met their gazes briefly before staring at the floor. "Yes, I recognize you. All three of you. I'm remembering…" she shuddered, and her knees gave out. Both women caught her as she collapsed; Bo collected her and carried her to the edge of the bed. The succubus kept one arm around Kenzi's thin shoulders, reluctant to let her go.

"Remembering what, Kenz?" Bo asked, gently tucking a strand of black hair out of Kenzi's face.

"Everything..." she hesitantly laid a hand on Bo's. "It's… coming in flashes. I remember… before. Living with you, hanging out…" she gave the raven haired woman a small smile. "Kicking fae and human ass." The smile faded. "I remember pain, and…  _him_ …" her eyes slid shut as she shuddered. "After he came, I don't remember much else. Not until…" she broke off, wincing.

"Until what, Kenzi?" Dyson asked gently from his spot at the far end of the bed, having decided his close presence might not be the best thing for Kenzi at the moment. He was proven right when the girl stiffened at the sound of his voice. Both women noticed. The human one took her hand while the fae one leapt to her feet.

"You  _lied_ , Dyson. What did you do to Kenzi?"

"Nothing!"

Before Bo could reply, a cold and slipped around her wrist. She turned to Kenzi. "I know you feel like you need to listen to him, Kenz, but you don't. You never did –" she stopped when Kenzi shook her head.

"Bobo, he didn't hurt me," she told the other woman softly. "He… he was going to," she tightened her grip before Bo could turn around and attack the shifter. "But… but he fought it. He stopped himself. Dyson, he was in so much pain! I told him to just do it, but he didn't. He pushed himself away from me and shifted." Her eyes turned to the shifter, wide and confused. "Why didn't you just… just do it?!"

She started to hyperventilate, eyes wide. Lauren pulled her close, making soothing sounds as Bo stalked over to Dyson and stood in front of him. "Is that the truth?" she ground out.

The shifter nodded. "I was at the Light fae compound, with the Empress, remember? I saw her talking to Hale before he attacked Kenzi. She's behind this, Bo. Neither Hale nor I would  _ever_  attack Kenzi, especially not…" he found he couldn't even say. He closed his eyes. "I would rather have fought the drug until I died than do… that… to Kenzi."

For a long moment, Bo held his gaze, staring into his eyes, searching to see the truth, or lack thereof. When she turned back to Kenzi, she didn't seem to completely believe it, but it was better than outright disbelief.

While the two fae had been having their argument, the doctor had gotten Kenzi to calm down again and was in the midst of changing the bandage on her wrist, talking softly about some new medical discovery and the antics of her new assistant. Seeing a small smile on the younger human's face was a balm for Bo and Dyson, who held back briefly, not wanting to lose the moment. But the ringing of Dyson's cellphone did that for them.

"Dyson."

" _Please tell me you didn't go the compound last night!"_  Hale demanded without preamble.

Dyson walked into the kitchen. "And if I did?" he spat.

On the other end of the line, the siren growled in frustration. " _Can you just answer the damn question already? It's important that you don't! Or if you do, don't drink, accept or keep anything from Her or Her close associates!"_

Dyson lowered his voice. "What have you heard?"

" _Your partner, that Valkyrie, has heard rumors of a member of Her household purchasing certain… liquids and spells from a dark Vengeance fae, to be used on a human pet of the unaligned succubus and her friends, including you."_

Vaguely Dyson was aware of the phone squeaking in his grip. Mindful that he wasn't finished with his conversation with Hale he relaxed his hands. "We were guessing that She was behind all of this –"

Hale interrupted him, " _You still haven't answered my question! Did you go there or not?_ "

"Yes, I did. And Yes, I was drugged, too! But unlike you, I was able to fight it. I got away from her and shifted." He stopped himself, hearing Hale's breath hitch on the other end of the line. "Sorry, Hale. That was uncalled for. I suppose it helps that I'm not physically attracted to her. You are."

Hale took in a deep breath, and let it out. " _Yeah, well, you have a point. And I'm beating myself up enough without you having a go at me as well._ " There was noise in the background. " _I have to go. Keep me posted. And Dyson. Your partner told me this without wanting payment. I'm not sure what she's after or what her game is, but watch your backs. I'll be back by the end of the week."_

The line went dead.

Dyson sighed, running a splayed hand through his hair before dragging it down his face and allowing himself to sag against the countertop. Just what he needed. More trouble.

"Dyson?" Bo's troubled face appeared next to him, though not as close as she would have a couple of years ago, and she didn't touch him, either. Part of him missed her touch. He didn't want to think about the rest of that, didn't have  _time_  to do so. Trouble was on its way.

But first, he had to know. "Bo, why did you come back here? Did you get a tip that She had drugged me, or…"

Tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder, Bo dug something small out of her back pocket: a clear pointed crystal hung from a silver skeleton key. "Forgot to give this back to you. Didn't want Kenzi to get hurt any more than she already has been."

Dyson winced at the not-so-subtle dig. "Hang onto it for now. I might have to run out for a while. That was Hale. Tamsin gave him so information regarding our current… situation," he quickly changed words as he noticed Kenzi and Lauren attempting to eavesdrop from the bed.

"Tasmin being your sexy blonde bombshell of a new partner?" Bo said, unable to hide her distaste for the Dark fae. "What'd she want in exchange? Those Dark fae don't ever just give stuff to others, especially the Light, and definitely not for the benefit of a  _human_."

Shrugging, Dyson pocketed his cell phone. "I don't know what to tell you, Bo. She will most likely want this debt repaid. That could be next week, next month, next century." He held up a hand when Bo opened her mouth. "If it helps us, Bo, I don't really care. We should heed her advice."

The succubus scowled, raising her eyebrows. "I know, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Without another word, she turned back to Kenzi, who was seated alone on his bed. Lauren must have slipped out while he was on the phone. Dyson stayed where he was, watching his girls. The thought stopped him. Given, he had considered Bo his long before he had given away his love for her, and then Kenzi had gotten it back for him. Kenzi…. earlier, he had thought of Kenzi as his own. With a jolt, he realized he loved her. A love unlike what he felt for Bo, what he had ever felt for another soul in all of his centuries of living. The passion without the sex, commitment without bounds, and fierce protectiveness that made him feel like he could take on all the worlds and everyone and everything in them just to keep her safe.

Abruptly him pushed himself away from the counter. "I need some air. Can you stay with her, Bo?" when Bo nodded, he turned to Kenzi and slowly crouched down in front of her. Her eyes were still clear, but they also flickered with fear and uncertainty at his closeness. Gently he clasped one of her hands in his. "I'll be back, Kenzi. I want to go talk to someone about what's going on, and… what happened to you."

Kenzi gave him a small, shaky smile. "Just… make sure you come back to me, Wolfman, ok? Before my newly remembered memories go poof like Trick's top shelf hooch." Her eyes teared up. "I don't know how long… how long I can hang onto them this time, or if I'll be able to get them back."

Bo wrapped her arms around her best friend. "If they go away, we'll help you get them back, Kenzi. Every time no matter what!"

Dyson clasped his other hand onto the small human's shoulder. "Stay strong, ok Kenz? We're not going to let you go, not again." He paused. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't try harder to-"

His words were cut off when Kenzi placed a finger over his mouth. The flesh wrapped around the small finger was cold. Too cold. She should be full of fire, but now that fire was gone. He wasn't too sure there were even any embers left for him to care for.

"Bo explained, D-man. She told me about this Empress, and her games, and her Gags. Sounds like a piece of royally mess up kitty cat if you ask me." She gave him another shaky smile. "Go do your wolfy business. I'll be goody-two-shoes good with Bobo. I understand."

_I understand._  The statement pierced him, gracing him with sincere forgiveness he knew he didn't deserve. But her trust in him gave him the strength and resolve to place a gentle kiss on her forehead before give Bo a grateful nod and heading out the door.

He had questions for a certain blonde, and he thought he knew where to find her.

OoOoO

Bo drew Kenzi back onto the messy bed as the door swung closed behind Dyson as he exited the loft. The human girl's eyes were flickering around the room, and her breathing was starting to go erratic. She could see her slipping away again. "Kenzi, Kenzi, look at me, sweetie," she said, placing a gentle hand under her chin, guiding her best friend's gaze up to meet her own. She smiled. "Hey there," said Bo softly. "How're you doing?"

Kenzi shrugged, her breathing starting to slow. "Ok I guess, Bobo." She tried to smile at the older woman, who was raising a single, disbelieving eyebrow at her. "Ok, ok. Exhausted, confused, scared shitless, in pain…" she trailed off. "I'm so scared that if I fall asleep, I won't remember you, or D-man, or Lauren, or Trick, or Tamtam…" her voice broke, and she sobbed. "I don't want to lose you guys, or myself, again, Bo. Please, please help me to remember! I don't want to forget again!"

Bo pulled her into a tight hug, tears in the corner of her eyes. "Oh Kenz. If that happens, I'll be right here to help you remember again. Each and every time. I promise. I'm never leaving you again."

"Pinkie swear?" came the quiet question over her shoulder.

Bo smiled. "Pinkie swear," she replied. And when I find those who did this to you, Kenzi, I will make them pay, she added silently. Out loud, she said, "What can we do to keep your memories where they should be? Talk about what happened?"

Slowly Kenzi sat upright; Bo released her though she did lay a hand on her friend's wrist. "It could," replied Kenzi hesitantly. "It did with Dy, but… what happened, while I was missing… I don't want to have to live through the details. It was bad enough going through it once."

"You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to, Kenz – " Bo started to say, but Kenzi interrupted her. "No… no. As much as it might suck donkey balls, it might help."

"Only if you're sure," Bo said worriedly.

Kenzi smiled halfheartedly. "I'm not, but hey, if living through that hell again helps… if it helps me to remember you…" her lower lip trembled. "Then I will live through it again, for you. I just… they tortured me, starved me… raped me… for months, until I broke. And… they brought someone in who could look like  _him_."

"Him?" Bo asked, confused. "Hale, or Dyson, or?"

Kenzi shook her head. "No. My… my stepdad." She wrapped her arms around herself. "He's the one who… would come see me and… the most often, where I was."

Bo's mouth opened in shock. She knew Kenzi's stepfather was a bastard who haunted her past and nightmares, but this… "It wasn't, you know,  _actually_  him, was it?"

The small goth shook her head. "No. It was a shapeshifter." She snorted humorlessly. "Started out as an old woman, locked in the same cell as me. Then she… it… changed into him."

Bo could see the panic rising in her friend's eyes, and struggled to find a different subject. "How were you taken? I just came home from Lauren's the morning after our party at the Dal, and you were gone. Dyson couldn't smell anyone besides us in the clubhouse, and your trail went cold once you left the property. Not even a strange vehicle. It was as if you sprouted wings or something!"

"That would be cool, wouldn't it?" Kenzi asked with a damp chuckle. "The great and mighty Kenzi, with wings of coal!" then she sobered. "Honestly, Bo, I don't really remember anything after leaving the Dal. It's blank. After leaving the Dal the next thing I remember is waking up chained and hanging from a ceiling in a room reeking of dungeons and dragons chic, not to mention just reeking in general."

Bo rubbed her friend's arm comfortingly. "Maybe you'll remember later, or whoever got you got you as you left the Dal."

Kenzi curled up next to Bo, putting her head on the other woman's shoulder. "I don't know, Bobo. I'm just glad to be back at your side again."

Bo wrapped her arms her best friend. "So am I, Kenz. So am I. And heaven and hell help anyone who tried to take you from me again."

OoOoO

"Tasmin. Tasmin! Will you slow down for one second?!"

Said blonde rolled her eyes as she turned around. "What do you want Dyson? Isn't having to see you at work enough? You need to drag your light fae ass down here to annoy me off duty as well?"

The few people still in the precinct gym glanced over at them. Dyson sighed. "I need to know why you went out of your way to warn us," he said in a low voice. "Why would a dark fae think it worth it to help with a human pet?"

Tasmin had also noticed their watchers. "Not here. Outside." She turned and left without waiting for an answer from the wolf, who growled in frustration but followed her out to the blonde's car.

"Why?" she repeated, throwing her bag in the trunk of her car. "Do I need a reason to put the unaligned succubus, a light fae shifter and the former Ash, not to mention the Blood King, in my debt?"

Dyson took a step towards her. "How do I know you're not merely another piece in her game with us?" he growled, eyes flashing amber.

"She knows I hate you, and that you hate me." Tasmin crossed her arms and frowned up at the angry wolf. "Why would you believe a word of warning from me? Your ruler is smarter than that."

Dyson had to give her that one, but it still didn't answer his question. "Again, I will ask you. Why should I believe you?"

The Valkyrie looked away. She sighed impatiently before answering quietly, "She was kind to me, the human. No reason, she just… was." She looked up at Dyson, a look of confusion in her eyes. "Not for gain, or deception, or to get something from or out of me. She was kind because she wanted to. I know I wasn't her favorite fae, but she was still kind. A soul like that… I couldn't ignore that." She ran a hand through her hair; strands fell away as she dropped her hand back to her side. "No one has ever been kind to me just to be kind."

"That's how Kenzi is. Even if she doesn't like you, if she sees good in you, she is kind." Dyson said softly. "Tasmin… you're dying."

"Yeah, thanks for pointing that out." She snapped. "I didn't agree to stay and talk with you for you to have you attack me." She moved as if to leave but Dyson grabbed her arm.

"Look, I'm sorry." He apologized. Surprisingly, he actually did feel like he needed to. "I just… didn't know. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Not something I really wanted to advertise, wolf-man. We may have to work together, but it doesn't mean we're going to become buddy buddy and I tell you all of my secrets."

"I know. Sorry, Tasmin." He sighed. "Look… thank you for sticking your neck out for her, and for us, by getting that information to us. I don't know what game she is playing here, but be careful you don't get caught up in it as well."

Tasmin smiled thinly at him as she dug her keys out of her pocket. "Good luck to her, then. I'll send her off, and not to somewhere pleasant."

Dyson chuckled in spite of himself. "Get in line, Valkaryie."

She opened her mouth to retort, when she saw movement over his shoulder. She nodded in their direction. "Friends of yours?"

Dyson turned and frowned. "No. Get out of here, now."

OoOoO

Bo was entertaining Kenzi with the tale of a fairy princess who's magical wings (which she was somehow able to take on and off… who knew?) had been stolen and sought out Bo's help in finding them when her cell went off.

"Dyson?"

"No. This is Tasmin. Is Kenzi with you?"

Bo scowled. "How did you get my number, Blondie?"

In the background, Bo could hear the screeching of tires. "That doesn't matter right now! Is she with you?"

"Yes. Why?"

"How long since Dyson left his place where you are til now?" the Valkaryie demanded, squeezing her cell between her ear and shoulder, having both hands on the steering wheel as she maneuvered the narrow street along a lake; she glanced in her rear-view mirror. Her tail was still there.

Bo threw her free hand up in the air. "I don't know. A couple hours. Why?"

"Shit. Then they might have a case against him." At the last second, she whipped her car down an even narrower road.

"Tasmin, what the hell is going on? What do you mean, a case against him? Who is him? Dyson?"

"Get Kenzi somewhere safe. Take her to the Dal and ask Trick for sanctuary for both of you. Keep the slave key with you as proof she's currently yours so they can't take her away from you. Dyson has been arrested by light fae guards. They'll probably come for Kenzi, because they might think he told her something. And they won't be nice to her."

Bo, hurriedly throwing clothes to Kenzi, stopped. "Dyson's been arrested? What the hell for?!" beside her, Kenzi froze, eyes wide.

"For high treason and murder. The Empress was found dead in her solar. Eyewitnesses say he was seen in the area right beforehand."

"There's no way he'd do something so foolish as kill the Empress!" Bo shouted. "And besides, doesn't she have, like, nine lives? Wouldn't having to kill her  _nine times_  be rather noisy?"

"Even if it was to protect your and his favorite human, he couldn't kill her?" Tasmin demanded. "And with centuries of experience killing, I'm sure he could manage it."

"And risk Kenzi's life? No! Look, we'll head to the Dal. What about you, can you meet us there? We can work out a plan to save Dyson there." She glanced at Kenzi, who was hurriedly shoving her feet into high heeled black boots Bo had brought from the clubhouse before jumping to her feet, ready to go.

There was no answer on the other end of the line from the Valkaryie. Just the screech of tires, gravel hitting metal, breaking glass, and three gunshots. 


	8. Strange Occurances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: mentions of rape and abuse, depression, self harm, suicide, death.

Trick was just putting the finishing touches on the Dal, getting ready for a slow night. Tuesdays were always slow, typically just couples or fae looking for a coupling, so he added candles around the room to give it a more intimate feel. But then the door nearly burst off its hinges, and his granddaughter stormed in, followed closely by Kenzi. The latter, he was pleased to see, was wearing something that fit her old wardrobe, and her eyes seemed somewhat more aware than before, though he could still see bandages peeking out from the sleeves over her black trenchcoat. He opened his mouth in greeting, but Bo's shout stopped him cold.

"Trick, we need sanctuary!"

The Blood King frowned, stepping out from behind the bar. "What have you gotten yourself into this time, Isabo? And dragging Kenzi into this while – "

Bo waved her hands impatiently. "Her memories are coming back, Trick. But whether they were or not, we need sanctuary because someone is after her! Dyson has been framed for killing the Empress, I think I heard Tasmin get murdered over the phone, and I can't get ahold of Hale, not that I want to, but he's not picking up, either."

"What – it…" Trick was at a loss for words. "The Empress is  _dead_? How?"

"All Tasmin said was she saw him arrested and charged with the murder because eyewitnesses saw him there right before her body was found. She was driving, and then there was a crash, and gunshots…" Bo trailed off, eyes wide. "Please, Trick, I need to keep Kenzi safe!"

Trick nodded, motioning for them both to follow him downstairs. Before they could reach the staircase, the poor door once again was bounced off the wall as five Light fae guards entered the premises. Trick immediately stepped in front of the two girls. "What business do you have here?"

"We're to take the unaligned succubus in for questioning regarding the Death of the Empress. Same with the human before its culling."

"You fucking bastards won't – " Bo snarled, striding towards the intruders before Trick intercepted her.

"They're both under my protection, having requested, and given, sanctuary. And right now, you are all intruders in my establishment. Now,  _leave._ "

The guard who had spoken before motioned for the others to leave, but paused by the door. "You can only keep them safe for so long, old man. If they're found guilty, they must pay for their crimes with their lives. Even if we have to burn this place to the ground with them, you, and anyone else inside."

The door slammed shut. Hurriedly, Trick hung a carved wooden plaque on the outside of the door stating the Dal was closed before turning around to see Bo kneeling on the floor, arms wrapped protectively around Kenzi. Said human was pressed to the wall and shaking, eyes locked on the worn wood floor, her breathing uneven and rapid.

"Bo, is she ok?" Trick hurried over. "Pick her up, we'll take her downstairs."

"He was there," the soft statement came from Kenzi. "He was there…"

Bo touched her shoulder. "Who, Kenzi? Who was where?"

Pale eyes flickered towards the closed door, up at Bo and back to the floor. "H-him. The guard. He was at th-the place I was k-kept... working for the woman who owned me." She shuddered, and Bo tightened her arms around the small human. "He h-helped her beat me… helped w-with my… training."

"…Training?" Bo asked hesitantly, though she had a bad feeling she already knew the answer.

"How to pleasure fae. To do as t-told to do." Kenzi squeezed her eyes shut. "I c-can still feel him…"

"Shhh…" murmured Bo, pressing a gently kiss in Kenzi's hair. "I'm right here, no one is going to hurt you like that again." Glancing up at her grandfather, she saw he was frowning, his eyes troubled before silently motioning for her to pick Kenzi up and follow him.

"Bobo put me down I can walk on my own two paws…" the protest came weakly from the human in her arms.

Bo smiled down at the human in her arms. "Rest your paws, Kenzi. I've got you."

When she reached Trick's lair, said fae was already pacing around the main room, hands clasped behind him. He didn't say a word while she settled her human on the couch, didn't even seem to noticed them. After several minutes, Bo's patience broke. "We need to save Dyson, Trick. He didn't kill the Empress! And Tasmin… I know she's dark fae, but she stuck her neck out for us, and she might be hurt, or dying! I need to go find her and then we can work on a plan for Dyson!"

"No." the single word stopped Bo in her tracks.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" she demanded, turning from the staircase to face her grandfather. "They're both in trouble, and need help-"

"Bo, Tasmin was already dying, and she made her choice," Trick said firmly. "Even so, she's a Valkyrie."

"So what?" asked Bo. "What difference does it make what fae she is, or was?"

The Blood Kind sighed. "Bo, what do you know about the Valkyrie?"

"Just that they're beautiful from Valhalla, they take fallen warrior heros there. What's your point, Trick?"

Trick grabbed her wrists before she could turn away from him. "They have multiple lives, Bo. Even if she is dead, she won't stay dead for long. Yes, we need to go find her, but not you, and not right now. The entrances to the Dal and my lair are being watched. It's too risky."

Bo stared at him for a moment, searching his eyes. When he finally saw her accept what he was saying, he released her wrists, allowing her to turn back to her friend. The human had fallen into a half sleep, her eyes half-lidded and fixed on the opposite wall. "Kenz?" she asked softly. When she didn't receive a response, the succubus sat down on the edge of the couch. Reaching out, she gently shook the girl's shoulders. "Hey, Kenzi? You alright?"

The goth twitched. Her brow furrowed when she looked over. "…who are you?"

Bo felt her heart grow heavy. "My name is Bo. We're friends, remember? We lived together for a couple of years, got into trouble, had fun…" she trailed off with a watery smile as her friend's eyes cleared.

"Oh… yeah… Sorry Bobo. My mind went on a walkabout. Happens a lot, you know. Even before…" the light in her eyes faded, but she plowed ahead. "before everything that happened."

Bo cupped her friend's cheek, tracing the pronounced cheekbone with her thumb. "Don't think about that right now, alright? Just –" The shrill shriek of a cellphone cut off what she was saying.

"What is it?" she demanded, recognizing the number that had popped up as Hale's.

" _What the_ _ **hell**_ _is happening there?!"_  the Siren shouted.  _"My Father and I just got word that the Empress is dead and Dyson has been arrested for it! Where are you? Where's Kenzi?"_

Bo stood up, fists clenching. "I don't know any more than you do! Tasmin called –"

" _Wait,_ _ **Tasmin**_ _called you?"_

"Tasmin called, warning me that Dyson had been arrested for the Empress's murder, and to take Kenzi and hide." Bo continued, ignoring the interruption. "Kenzi and I are –" she broke off as Trick shook his head vehemently. "… we're somewhere safe."

" _Where?"_

"I'm not telling  _you_ ," she spat. "Not over an open line, and not to you!"

Kenzi had pushed herself upright, her knees retreating against her chest, held in place by her thin arms. Her eyes flickered between Bo and Trick. Hale was yelling loud enough even her human ears could catch every word. Trick, seeing the look in her eyes, gave her a gentle smile.

" _Let me talk to Kenzi."_  Asked the siren, a note of pleading entering his voice.

" _No way in hell!"_  Bo snarled, her eyes flickering to their electric blue and back. "I'm not letting you  _near_  her, and that includes talking to her!"

Before she could yell something else, Trick motioned for her to hand the phone over. He then handed it to Kenzi, who had been watching Bo.  
"Kenzi, you don't need to talk to him!" said Bo.

Kenzi's lips twisted in a half smile. "It's ok Bo." She put the phone up to her ear. "Hale?"

_"Kenzi? Oh thank God! Are you alright?!"_

"As good as I can be, no thanks to you and seeing someone from the training facility I was kept in," said Kenzi, her voice as sharp as her posture was not. But her eyes snapped, glinting like the old Kenzi's would when her temper flared.

A sigh echoed through the speaker.  _"I'm sorry for what happened, Kenzi. I wasn't… I wasn't me, when… that happened. I want to make it up to you. Please!"_

"Find Tasmin," she said simply. "It's thanks to her that Bo and I are safe, she's the one who warned us about everything. But Bo heard her go off the road and maybe shot. We owe her. You want to start making up to me, find her and get her somewhere safe." Without waiting for a reply, she snapped the phone shut and handed it back to Bo, her hands shaking.

"Oh Kenzi…" Bo sat and pulled her best friend into a tight hug. Behind them, Trick smiled.

OoOoO

"I didn't kill her!" Dyson roared as the chains on the whip snapped against his back once more, leaving trails of more blood. His arms were chained together and strung above his head from the ceiling to the point his feet barely touched the floor. He hoped he didn't end up changing into his wolf… hanging from the ceiling in humanoid form was bad enough. "I didn't kill the Empress!" he repeated.

"So you say, wolf," said the fae in front of him, head cocked to one side. He held up a finger. "But, somehow I just don't believe you. Where were you when she died, if not killing her?"

"I was looking into a human trafficking ring, for my detective  _job_ ," he snarled. "They've been kidnapping children as young as ten! I was assigned it three weeks ago!"

The man tapped the still-extended finger against his chin. "Would that be the same trafficking ring that your precious human was trained in? Smells like an ulterior motive,  _wolf_!"

Another crack of the whip.

Dyson's eyes shifted yellow. "I don't know if it's the same one. I'm just doing my job!"

"Mmhmm." The fae questioner took a couple of steps away, before returning. "So, then, how do you explain sightings of you right before our Lovely Empress was found murdered, her throat slashed by a clawed hand?"

"I'm not the only animal shifter, or even the only wolf shifter in town who has access to her compound!"

"So, you don't deny that you  _could_  have been the one who killed her?"

" _Could_  have been, but  _wasn't_!"

Three more cracks of the whip later, Dyson's eyes were glowing, teeth elongated, nails sharpened. Panting in pain and trying to keep from Changing. The fae in front of him drew his hand back to strike him before the door to the right opened up to admit Lauren.

"Stop." She ordered. "As of now, he is no longer a prime suspect."

"So you say,  _human_ ," the interrogator snapped. "I could tear you apart and eat you before you could even open your mouth to explain."

"Don't you touch her!" Dyson snarled.

"I'd hate to be in your shoes if you did." Lauren said evenly at the same time. She glanced over at Dyson, surprise flitting behind her eyes before going icy calm again as they resettled on the fae between him. She held out a sealed parchment envelope to him. "I bare orders from the Head of the Empress guard, his assistant, and the Head Inquisitor who has reviewed my findings. Brown fur was found in the Solar as well as on the Empress's body. Dyson's wolf shape is silver. He's not our murderer."

The fae male snatched the envelope from the doctor and tore it open. He read it twice before giving a sharp nod to the fae behind him. "We're done… for now. Let him go."

The questioner stormed out, shouldering roughly by Lauren. After dropping him out of his chains, the other fae, whip still in hand, approached the human, placing his hands on either side of her head. He inhaled, leaning closer. "You smell… tasty. Tasty enough to almost make it worth breaking the rules… but of course, we'd have some… fun first."

Dyson stumbled upright and roughly grabbed the other fae. "You lay a hand on her, or anything else, I'll rip your guts out and eat them while you watch." He hissed. "Now get away from her."

The other fae snickered at him; the snicker died in his throat as the power of the wolf peered out through golden eyes. The other fae muttered something unintelligible before shoving his way out the door.

"Thank you, Dyson." Said Lauren, tiredly running a hand through her loose hair. She slumped against the wall, the fight leaving her after the disappearance of the other fae.

He slumped against the edge of the doorframe, smiling crookedly at her. "No problem." He winced, and Lauren grabbed his arm. "C'mon, let's go get your back cleaned up."

OoOoO

Dyson watched as the human doctor cleaned up the leftovers of stitching and cleaning his back. Blood had splotched her white coat sleeve, but it didn't seem to bother her. She hadn't bothered to change as she cleaned, stitched, and applied an herbal ointment to his wounds which dulled the pain down to a manageable level. He could tell something was bothering her, and she smelled stressed, afraid even. He slid off the exam table, catching her arm as she walked passed him. "Have you heard from… them?" he asked, voice low.

She shook her head. "No. They took my phone not long after I got back here, because of the death of the Empress. Didn't want anyone to contact the outside world, fae or otherwise."

Dyson growled softly. "If they did this to me," he motioned to his back, "if they catch them, especially… her, being…what she is…"

"They'll kill her." A voice behind both of them finished.

OoOoO

Bo sat down on the red velvet-covered chair in a niche in the bar, swirling her mostly-full beverage glass. For once, she wasn't interested in the alcohol. Sighing and setting the glass on the nearest end table, she asked, "Do you think Hale will be able to find her, Trick? Right now, I'm not sure how much I trust him with anything, let alone…this."

Trick, already seated opposite, hesitated before he said, "Listen, Bo, I know what happened has truly broken your trust in him, and I don't blame you in the least for it. But please, just remember he was being affected by something way beyond his control that night. It wasn't Hale's fault that he attacked Kenzi."

The Succubus scowled. "Attacked? He didn't just attack her, Trick, he raped her! Dyson was drugged too, and he didn't attack her, didn't try and  _rape_  her. If Hale truly loved her at all, he would've fought, would've managed to not do that to her."

"Hale is in love with her, true. But with that comes feelings of lust, as well." Trick pointed out. "Dyson sees her as a pack member he must protect, and as a friend. That's all." Noticing her granddaughter's face go from a scowl to a small smile, he asked, "What is it?"

"I'm not so sure about that."

"About what?"

"That that is the only way Dyson views our Kenzi."

OoOoO

Deciding it was high time to go check on Kenzi after giving her the good part of a day to rest and sleep Bo left Trick to ponder her words and the explanation behind them. She knew Dyson still had feelings for her. She knew he'd sleep with just about any Faechick who caught his eye. But she also had seen and felt how his chi reacted when Kenzi was near. Before she had vanished, it had been happy, content even. Now… rage, love, protectiveness… their human had been broken, shattered beyond their power to save. But here she was, slowly coming to herself, slowly remembering. And Dyson had been the trigger. She could only hope that the feelings went both ways, someday.

Kenzi's eyes fluttered open when Bo brushed a strand of hair out of her friend's face. "Hey there, sleepyhead. How're you feeling?"

Kenzi stared at her for a long moment, her forehead wrinkled in confusion before easing up. "Bo? Is that you?" she looked around, pushing herself up onto her elbows under the heavy, soft blanket Trick had pulled from somewhere. "Why are we in Trick's lair?"

Bo hesitated, wondering how much to tell Kenzi without upsetting her, or worse. "What do you remember from yesterday?" she asked instead, helping her raven-haired friend sit up.

"Not a whole lot, actually," she murmured, rubbing her cheek. Her hand froze. "What happened? Why can't I remember, Bo? Why can't I remember?!"

Bo grabbed her friend's flailing arms, holding her still. "Kenzi, relax! It's ok! Breathe, Kenz, just breathe!"

Breathing wasn't something on the top of Kenzi's to do list, her throat closing off in panic, her body seizing. Not knowing what else to do, Bo wrapped her arms around the shaking human, her glowing hand stroking the messy hair of her friend. Softly she whispered soothing words into Kenzi's ear until, slowly, her breathing evened out and her body stopped shaking.

"Bo?" she asked hesitantly. "May I… can I get cleaned up? I haven't showered in a couple days, not since Hale…" she trailed off, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "I need to feel clean," she whispered. "please."

Bo knew she had showered the day before, but understood the reasoning behind Kenzi's request, not to mention her lapsing memory. So she smiled and agreed. "C'mon, Kenzi. Let's just hope Trick's shower isn't as short as he is."

"I heard that!" an amused shout echoed down the stairs.

Kenzi chuckled wetly. "We still love you, Trick!" she called back, eyes lighting up slightly in amusement.

Easing off of the lounge chair and attempting to stand up turned out to be more than Kenzi's non-thralled self was ready for. Bo caught her when her legs gave out, ignoring the flinch the smaller woman gave when Bo touched her sides and chest in her haste to keep the human from falling to the floor. Choosing to ignore it, the Succubus wrapped one are around her friend's waist, looping her closer arm around her neck and leading her to the bathroom.

In the end, Bo shed everything but her tank top and her boy short underwear and climbed into the –surprisingly – normal-sized shower with more than enough room for the two of them; there was even feminine shampoo and body wash, and Bo had to wonder if it was from a 'friend' of Tricks, or if he had known this was going to happen and had appropriated what he thought Kenzi would like; it was coconut after all.

Kenzi didn't even blink at completely stripping in front of her former roommate, eyes fixed on the floor. The human was able to do most of the work, only wobbling a few times where the taller Fae had to assist her in keeping her balance. Bo's jaw ached, her teeth clenched together as she took in the scars which covered so much of her sister's pale flesh, at how thin she was. She knew her eyes were flashing blue in her rage, and she fought for control, desperate to not become yet another Fae in Kenzi's life to scare her.

Blinking away the rage and tears, Bo noticed Kenzi was just standing under the hot stream of water, eyes shut, arms wrapped around herself. "Kenzi?" she whispered, carefully placing an arm on the human's shoulder.

Surprisingly, Kenzi leaned into the touch until she was completely against Bo's chest, the Succubus's arms wrapped again around her friend. "Bo… I don't know if I can do this anymore…"

Dread chewed at Bo's stomach. "Do what, Kenz?" she wrapped her arms tighter around Kenzi when the latter's knees gave out. Rather than force her to stand again, Bo slid down to sit on the stone tiled floor, her friend clutching her shirt, her body shaking minutely, eyes screwed shut. "Kenzi, what do you mean? Do what?"

"Live."

OoOoO

Hale sped down the road, his mind going in a thousand different directions. Where were Kenzi and Bo? The accusations against Dyson. The Empress' death. Tasmin seemingly changing sides, helping them. Not just Light Fae, but a human… and several hundred more directions.

He had managed at least to get Dyson out of prison and into Lauren's capable hands. The compound was locked down so neither of them would be able to leave. But at least the human doctor would be able to patch up Dyson's probable wounds, and in turn the shifter would keep the human safe. He wouldn't put it past either of them alone or together to attempt to leave the compound, or at least contact Bo or Trick. He hoped not, but, after all, it WAS those two.

Right now there was nothing else he could do at the compound. He had put a couple of his people to the task of finding out which animal shifters had fur that color, the means to access the Empress's inner chambers, and would have a reason – and the ability – to kill her, all the while under her Gag. Lauren was running more tests on the fur found in the Empress' solar to see if she could get a DNA match from her database. But all that took time, so instead he set off on the mission Kenzi had set him on. He knew there was no way this would redeem him in her eyes, but he hoped it would at least be a start. Even if it wasn't, he felt he owed it to the Dark Fae to try and help her after what she had done for Kenzi and his friends.

Rounding a curve in the road, he spotted a car half hidden in the trees, hood crumpled into the frame, tired and back window shot out. He pulled up behind it, shutting off his car as he peered out at the surrounding forest. Didn't seem like there was anyone with any power out there, though there was one flickering flame of power he hoped was Tasmin. But just in case, he checked his gun tucked in the waistband of his pants, though his Siren song would do more damage, he knew better than to go into a potentially hostile if not deadly situation with just a single weapon.

Blood coated the steering wheel of the car, and the driver's door was ripped completely off its hinges, tossed aside a couple yards away. A few long blonde hairs rested on the blood-splattered seat. A bloody handprint on a tree a few feet past the car led him away from the car, eyes searching the undergrowth.

"Tasmin?" the Siren called out hesitantly. "Are you ok?" he kept walking.

The flame of power he sensed flared once, leading him off the small animal trail before fading almost out of his range of senses. "Tasmin!"

"What.. the hells… are you doing here, Siren?" the voice was weak and raspy but still with the sharpness he always associated with the blonde. "How did you… find me?"

Rounding a small rocky outcropping covered with moss, past another bloody handprint, the blood covered body of the dying Valkyrie frowned up at him, her eyes flashing in rage despite the light fading from them. Cautiously the Siren crouched next to her. "Kenzi sent me," he informed her. "She wanted me to find you. And I found you by tracking your cell phone to the last location on the GPS."

"Is she safe?"

The question threw him. "As far as I know, yes. Her and Bo are hidden away somewhere, and both worried about you. Kenzi all but begged me to find you."

A short laugh turned into a body-wracking cough which left blood leaking out of Tasmin's mouth. "Surprised… that Succubus let you… anywhere near… her human after what you did. And save the… platitudes. I know you were… drugged." She coughed again.

Before he realized what he was doing Hale placed a warm hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Hey, hey, take it easy. We need to get you help."

Said blonde laughed humorlessly. "No one… will do that. Besides I'm… too far gone." She frowned up at him again, and this time Hale felt like she was peering far more into him than anyone else ever had. He could almost feel her poking, searching around in his head for something. After several moments, she nodded.

"Not that I have… much choice here, you know… but you're all I've got. When I…" she coughed more blood up, breathing becoming labored. "When I die and… come back. Take me to Trick. No one… no one else!" she glared at him. "Promise me!"

"I promise." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feed the muse comments! Comments are her junk food....


	9. Chapter 9

"They'll kill her." A voice behind both of them finished.

Dyson and Lauren spun around, though the wolf's nose had already told him who it was. Grabbing Lauren's wrist, he yanked her backwards, shoving her behind him, towards where he knew there was a bolt hole.

" _You!_ " he snarled at the same time as Lauren's "Oh my God…".

The woman cocked an eyebrow at him. "Is that anyway to speak to me? I came here to help you two, you know."

"Like hell you did," Dyson spat. "How the hell are you here?"

Shrug. "I don't know what you mean, Dyson Thornwood."

"Don't play games, I'm sick of your games!"

Another shrug. "Nothing wrong with a few games, wolf. But this isn't one of them." She cocked her head. "Or do you want your precious human pet to die at the hands of Fae for her part? Many will enjoy it. And I'm sure you can imagine just how much fun they'll have doing so."

Dyson felt is teeth and nails sharpening, eyes shifting to amber as he glared furiously at the Fae before him. "You stay away from her," he hissed.

"Or what," the Empress chided, smirking. "You going to kill me?"

Dyson kept his eyes on the Empress as he stayed in front of Lauren, despite her peering around him in shock. "We were told you were dead," he said finally. "Was that another one of your games? What was the point of this one?"

"No, no games. The Empress is dead, at least that's how it would seem." She smiled, almost sadly. "My sister kept me locked away deep beneath our feet, with a lock keyed to her lifeline, so either she'd die and it would break, or she would free me herself. She was once a wonderful Fae, but her developing power over others changed that, turned her into someone I no longer recognized. I was one of the very few who was immune to her powers, so she locked me away where I couldn't cause her trouble, which is why I have a hard time doubting she is dead. I must say, I wasn't expecting to be free for far longer than just a few years; I was expecting at least a century or two. How someone managed to dispatch her with all of her lives… is unbelieveable."

Silence greeted her statement. After a moment, Lauren edged around Dyson's body block to look at the Fae woman critically, though the shifter kept a grip on her arm, ready to pull her out of harm's way if needed. "I can see the minor differences," the doctor said. "your eyes… they're green. And your skin is paler, which is probably due poor nutrition and lack of sunlight. You're maybe a few centemeters taller than her as well. Your verbal inflections and postures are a lot more fluid and relaxed than the Empress' are… were."

The Fae woman smiled again. "Very observant, for a mere human." She held up her hand at Dyson's soft growl. "I'm not going to hurt her, wolf. She's not my type."

Dyson scowled. "Then what is your type?"

"To be with? Someone who's not attached to another Fae, like she is; beyond that, I'm not all that picky. To eat? People who hurt their own kind's young. I do to them what they have done to others before I consume them." Her eyes glittered.

"What is your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's Daenaaria, younger twin sister of Mhaykii, Jaguar Light Fae." She glanced over her shoulder. "We should leave, it's not safe for any of us currently here, whether my sister is dead or not. Is there somewhere safe we can go? We can talk more then."

OoOoO

Hale glanced in his rear view mirror at the seemingly six year old wild-haired blonde asleep in the back seat. It had been… strange watching the Valkyrie die, her soul leaving as a glowing black orb which lazily floated into the forest, and her body disintegrating into nothingness, the remaining particles blown deeper into the woods by the wind as if searching for her soul.

It had taken him nearly three hours of searching before a faint flicker of power licked at the corner of his mind; scared but stubborn. He found her just as she morphed into the girl who was asleep behind him, and another two hours to carry her out of there. She had fought him at first, not trusting him, a 'stupid siren', as she had shouted. Promising to take her somewhere safe where her friends were and there was ice cream, though, had done the trick. He had already called ahead to the Dal to make sure there was some, or if Bo or Trick could go and pick some up, which they agreed to after he explained the situation. Trick wasn't too sure about bringing in a young Valkyrie – and a Dark one at that – with no control of her powers and without the permission of the Dark Fae leader, but it had been what Tasmin had requested.

The Siren parked down the street from the Dal, noting Bo's yellow clunker parked at the opposite end of the road. Wonderful. Hopefully she didn't attack him for what had happened with Kenzi.

The thought of the human was more painful than the thought of a pissed off Succubus. What he had done to her… he remembered bits and pieces now of that night, and it made him sick, no matter he was still attracted to her. But to force her, whether she had been 'willing', as a thrall would, or not… he swallowed down the bile which rose in the back of his throat. He would deposit Tasmin and leave. He didn't want to risk hurting Kenzi again.

"Are we here?" a sleepy voice asked.

Hale turned around and tried to smile. "Yes, we're here where your friends are. And I called, they do have ice cream."

"Chocolate?"

"Yes they do, double chocolate, actually I think is what Trick said. You can eat as much as you want." He wouldn't be the one who would have to deal with a sugared up kid Valkyrie.

The tiny Tasmin huffed as she fought to undo her seatbelt. "As long as the short old man hasn't eaten it all."

OoOoO

Trick looked up from his spot behind the bar as the door swung open, and was more than a little shocked to see Hale holding a small blonde girl's hand, before it all clicked together. "Hello, little lady, you must be Miss Tasmin?"

Tasmin frowned up at him. "Not a Miss, miss is for old people. I'm not old."

Trick chuckled, leaning forwards on the bartop. "Alright then, Tasmin."

She nodded as if approving. "Where are Kenzi and Bo?"

Trick pointed to the staircase. "Downstairs, though I think they're resting; Kenzi's… not feeling good. You can go on down and I'll be there shortly. We can have ice cream then."

Tasmin didn't say another word before skipping to the steps and, somewhat quietly clamored down them.

After she was out of earshot, the Blood King turned a stern gaze onto Hale, silently demanding answers for everything that had happened in the past few days.

Hale ducked his head; he could feel the subtle power Trick's gaze held, and knew he was being extremely nice, given the circumstances. With a deep sigh, Hale sat down on one of the ancient bar stools. "Would saying I'm sorry yet again do anything?"

Silence.

Another sigh. "I didn't think so. Look, I don't know what happened to me, what was done to me so I attacked her, how Kenzi came to be a… a thrall, or being given to me. It's all a mess, and getting information is going to be that much harder with what happened now that the Empress is dead, or at least appears to be, so the Light Fae are in turmoil; I'm not sure what's going on down in the Complex, if Lauren was able to get Dyson out or not, or if they'll be able to leave at all." He ran his hands over his face, exhausted. "I don't know where to even start."

Trick stared at the back of Hale's hands, which were still over his face. He did feel slightly guilty for being so rude, but squashed it down angrily. Biting back anything too cruel, he said, "What were you planning on before you went to find Tasmin?"

"I was going to go talk with my family; they seem to have ears everywhere, so they should know at least something." Hands slid off his face and into fists on the bar top. "If they knew and didn't tell me…" he trailed off. "To them she's just another human. But I would hope that at least my sister would have said something to me… she knows what Kenz means to me."

"Perhaps they were… displeased with your involvement with a human?" Trick half asked, half stated. "Maybe they wanted you to see how frail she is."

Hale frowned. "You think they had something to do with the Empress' game with us?"

"I'm saying it's possible," Trick replied. "Whether they knew or not, were involved or not, I don't know. I know you want answers, we all do. But shouldn't we be focusing on keeping her safe, and helping her find herself instead?"

Hale got to his feet. "The best way I can help keep her safe is to stay away from her. I don't know if what was done to me so I attacked her is still in my system or not, but I don't want to risk it."

"Dyson is just fine, and he was affected as well," Trick pointed out.

"I know that! Dyson isn't in love with her, isn't attracted to her. I am," Hale retorted. "He had an easier time fighting it."

Trick thought back to his earlier conversation with Bo, but didn't dare mention it to the upset Siren; that was the last thing – well, just about the last thing – he needed to be dealing with right now. So instead he said, "Whatever you're going to go do, do it carefully, all right?"

Hale nodded, tipping his hat before he walked out the door, and was gone.

OoOoO

Bo, still awake and attempting to eavesdrop when she heard the door open up in the pub, didn't dare move from the couch where she and Kenzi were currently laying. The couch, barely seeming big enough for one of them, quite comfortably fit both of them with room to spare, leaving her questioning if she had misjudged the antique, or if it had magically expanded to fit her and the human; she suspected the latter.

She stiffened when she identified Hale's voice, a growl in the back of her throat and power hungry beneath her skin, but with Kenzi resting in her arms, apparently dreamless for once, she didn't want to disturb her sister. Torn, she almost didn't hear the dainty footsteps descending the stairs.

"Is she ok?" a wind-blown blonde child asked, eyes staring at Kenzi.

"She's… not feeling well, so she's resting," Bo said after the initial shock wore off. She could tell the child was Fae, and powerful for being so young, but wasn't sure if she needed to be identified as a threat or not. "Who are you?" she asked finally.

"My name is Tasmin."

The Valkyrie? Bo raised an eyebrow. She didn't know much about that type of Fae, but had heard Trick mention that had multiple lives. That explained Hale's presence upstairs; he had found her and brought her back here, just as Kenzi had asked him to.

Tasmin knelt down in front of Kenzi, eyes on the human's face. "She's sad, isn't she? Someone was mean to her."

Bo found herself nodding. "Several someones, yes."

"That wasn't nice of them. Did they get into trouble?" she looked up at Bo, hopeful.

"We don't know who was mean to her, she can't really remember who they were." Bo explained, trying to keep in G rated, despite the fact that this Fae was far older than she looked. Despite her good speech skills, she didn't seem to be able to currently understand anything outside of her age range, and she didn't want to be the one to expose her to the horrors outside of it.

Wordlessly, Tasmin climbed onto the sofa in front of Kenzi and curled up, facing the human, her small hands holding one of the human's small ones. "We just need to make sure they're not mean to you again," she said softly but firmly. "I won't let them."

She was asleep within moments.

Hearing the conversation above them end and the door open and shut once more, Bo carefully extricated herself from the cuddling group. Covering the two with a blanket hanging over the back of the now decidedly magical sofa – once she had gotten up, it had shrunk so Kenzi's back was almost against the back of the thing – and went upstairs to talk to Trick.

She found her Grandfather absently cleaning a wine glass which was very obviously clean, his eyes distant as he seemed to ponder something.

"Penny for your thoughts, Trick?" she said softly, a small smile on her lips.

"Hmm?" he looked up. "Oh, sorry Bo, didn't mean to stick you with babysitting duties. Where is Tasmin?"

"Curled up asleep with Kenzi on your creepy magic sofa. Goodness you could have a sex orge on that thing and there'd be room for everyone to spare!" she laughed.

Trick however, was blushing. Bo felt her mouth fall open. " _Trick?_ " she asked, half amused and half horrified.

"It's a priceless antique!" he stated with more than a little heat. " _anyways_ , what did you want?"

Bo cocked an eyebrow at him but decided to let the matter of her grandfather having such an… unusual piece of furniture drop… for the moment. "What did Hale want, besides to drop off Tasmin? What's he up to?"

"He said he's going to look for information on everything that's happening, from everything to do with Kenzi to the death of the Empress. Maybe they're tied together, maybe it's just a coincidence. Hard to say at this point."

"Actually, we might have someone who can help with that," said a voice at the door.

Trick felt his heart thud; Dyson and Lauren stood there… with the Empress.

Wait, no. He paused in reaching for the bat he kept behind the counter. It wasn't her… but it was damn close. "Who are you?" he demanded. "And what do you want? We're closed."

She bowed to him, surprising everyone. "Blood King, my name is Daenaaria, sister to the Empress. I seek Sanctuary from my clan and my supposedly dead sister." She straightened. "Though it would appear she is dead, which is most likely the only way I am free, and you do have a body," she glanced at Lauren. "we don't know for sure if it's her or not. It could be a different kind of shifter, such as a Kitsune. They don't change back after death."

Beside her, Dyson winced, remembering Kenzi – or at least he had thought it was Kenzi – dead in his arms, he blood on his skin... he could still smell her. A hand on his shoulder brought him out of the memories. Lauren. She met his gaze; she had been there too.

Beside them, Daenaaria watched their exchange. "I take it you have experienced such a Fae… personally."

Dyson nodded. "Yeah you could say that." He took another step inside the Dal and closed and locked the door behind them before rounding on the Jaguar Fae. "Now, what information can you share that will make me believe you're not just another part of the Empress' games with us? And speak quickly, I don't trust you, and those I don't trust, I don't let live for very long."


End file.
